B377Y
by WildWelshWitch
Summary: A new mutant...who ISN'T a turtle. This is my first story here. Please be nice and R&R? Will eventually be DonxOC and some mild violence
1. Prelude

_A new one_

_Nitrous Oxide. Meningitis. Small Pox. Cancer. Eye Make-up Remover._

_If you notice, by covering the bat with a series of paints, she does show a tendency to lose her fur…_

_Showing signs of a good recovery from the virus…_

_Strap her down and inject her with that DNA…_

_Let's see how she reacts to this stuff…_

_Mr Toneki, I don't __**care **__what you think, you're a lab assistant, __**just do it**__!"_

**January 2****nd**

**Test Subject: B-3-7-7-Y**

**Injected the fruit bat with 50mg of substance 458 as instructed by Dr Goodman.**

**Bat seemed to faint, regained consciousness after a few moments and then screamed loudly as if in pain. See security tapes for changes that occurred.**

**Have informed Dr Goodman – we seem to have created a human. **

**He wants to test these changes.**

**- Toshiba Toneki **

"Another night in the lab, just the two of us. Nice, huh, Betty?" Toshiba 'Tony' Toneki said, entering the laboratory space.

The hunched figure occupying the huge cage in the far corner of the laboratory didn't look up at him. Hugging it's newly formed knees and staring resolutely at its new feet.

"Are you hungry, Betty?" he asked kindly, offering her a plum from his bag, holding it out through the bars of the cage. She stared, eyes going from him to the fruit and back again, her brown eyes uncertain before looking away again.

_The last time they gave her food, it had tasted really bad, but she'd been so hungry that she'd eaten it anyway...and she'd gotten sick and then they'd hooked her to another tube for six days._

"Come on, I know you're hungry, you must be. You haven't eaten for over a week," He offered her the plum again. He knew that she could smell it. He needed her to eat, needed to make her strong for his plans next week or she'd never survive. Then it struck him what was wrong; she'd gone off food 12 days ago, after the day shift had given her the food infected with Substance 458.

"Look, they're safe," he took a bite to show her, her dark eyes watching him all the time. Then he held out the fruit to her yet again.

_Tony usually gave her food that didn't make her sick when Dr Goodman wasn't there, and it was just the two of them...like now...would it be different this time?_

_Hungry..._

_So hungry..._

_Hesitantly, she reached out with hands that were new and unused to the task and took the fruit, then bit into it, sucking at the juice hungrily. _

"Good?" Tony asked, smiling at her. She lowered the fruit and smiled back, nodding a little. Despite what Doctor Goodman said, she _did _understand English, she _was_ intelligent, and she wasn't a dumb animal. Not anymore, though he'd always thought she was fairly intelligent even as a fruit bat.

So Tony felt it was safe enough to tell her what he was planning.

"I'm going to let you go, Betty. You can go and find somewhere safe, a long way from here, somewhere that you can be free, do you understand?"

_She didn't know what 'free' was...it was a word that she heard Tony and the other white coats, the ones who didn't talk to her, use a lot. Free...Freedom...freedom of man, free from boundaries. It was all nonsense to her. _

_She shook her head._

"No more food that makes you sick, no more medicines and no more pain. It means no more being in a cage. Would you like that, Betty?"

_No...More...Cage? Yes! Yes! She wanted to leave the cage! Wanted it so much!_

_She nodded._

"Right, here's what I'm going to do...Next week, I'm going to inject you with something," he saw her visibly cringe and move away, he carried on quickly, "It's not bad, it'll just...put you to sleep for awhile. I'll tell Dr Goodman that you died in the night, that your body was too exhausted to take anymore. I don't think he'll be too upset, do you?"

_She shook her head again – Dr Goodman didn't care about her, never had, he only cared about what he could inject into or take from her...the new stitches in her right cheek made sure that she never forgot this._

"Right, so, I'll tell security that I'm taking your body away to burn it...I won't really though. You understand me so far?"

_She nodded at him, she understood...they burnt nearly everything that died here...dirty little secrets they were called. Though she'd heard that once they'd thrown one into the sewer in a hurry…_

"Then...I'll take you somewhere they won't find you"

_She nodded once more...Please let this work; she wanted to leave._

**January 25****th**** – **

**Test Subject B-3-7-7-Y **

**Injected the fruit bat with 150mg of substance 458 as per instructions. **

**The bat seemed to react well for a few moments then fell to the floor of its cage.**

**Having done all advised tests, no signs of life were found. **

**Test Subject B-3-7-7-Y has expired.**

**Will take the body to be incinerated**

**- Toshiba Toneki**


	2. Awakening & Discoveries

**Disclaimers: **TMNT, don't own them. Yuri belongs to mah good friend Lilly Lewis (BIG hugs for letting me use her. Look her up, yuri-blaze. ------ Betty winced as she came to...

Urgh...the light was too bright for her eyes to cope with...best keep them shut. For good measure she draped an arm over them. There, that was better...where were her glasses? Why weren't they in her pocket?

OK, don't panic...first things first:

Where was she?

Lying down on a mattress...that...could be good or bad, too bright to actually see anything though...at least the mattress was soft.

Next: Clothes?

Still wearing them. OK, that was a good thing at least.

OK...now the difficult part:

What had actually happened?

Think back...

Thursday night...that meant grocery shopping with the money Tony sent her. Bought a lot of fruit from the deli, bought a REALLY good dinner from China town..._(where were her bags?)_

Couldn't go back to the bunker the normal way, weird people with weird tattoos covering the manhole...Tony had advised caution. Some people were dangerous.

So, different alley, that was empty...or it had been.

Before she could put her bags down to lift the manhole cover, it had started lifting itself.

Betty'd thrown herself into the shadows and stood still and invisible as only a bat can.

She'd been surprised when a person had come up...a person with cat ears on top of her head...a cat?!

Betty stood even more rigid hoping she wouldn't be noticed.

(Bats are, by nature, small furry things that go 'squeak', whilst cats are, also by nature, sleek machines designed to bring quick and painful death to small furry things that go 'squeak'.)

Even though this girl seemed to be like her, not totally an animal anymore, she still smelt like a cat and it frightened something primal in Betty.

It was going to be OK, the cat hadn't noticed her...she was just starting to relax again when the cat had sniffed the air then turned to look at Betty with a curious gaze.

"Hello, nya."

She'd bolted, bags and all, down the open manhole, as soon as she'd hit the ledge she'd started running, there was something in her way but instincts were in charge, telling her to run away, not look where she was going. Just run!

"Hey! Watch it!" but too late, too late. She'd crashed into whoever it was and…that was when she woke up here.

Why hadn't the cat eaten her? And what had she run into?

Answer that later...Needed to get out of here and get home, back to the bunker, where it was safe.

Glasses...just run blind, use her sense of smell. It was quiet, there was no noise at all (Bat's have excellent hearing, they can hear a pin drop from miles away)

Cautiously, but quickly, she managed to swing her legs off the bed and push herself up. The giddy feeling in her head, which had been bothering her the last few days, made itself known again, but she ignored it, it would go away on its own.

The rustling noise from the floor, as the air moved from her sitting up, told her that her bags were on the floor. Blindly, she groped for and found the plastic handles. Very carefully she picked them up, then sniffed the air...

Home was...That way!

She didn't notice that her dog tag necklace had been left behind or that the bag that contained her dinner was gently leaking drips of spicy plum sauce every now and then.

u b 10 minutes later /b /u

Donatello suddenly woke up with the feeling that something wasn't quite right...

Aw, Shell! He'd fallen asleep at the computer again! The bright light from the monitor blazing, still showing the last page he'd looked at.

He'd only intended to research a few things, find some manuals for fixing some of the appliances around the lair, but time always seemed to get away from him.

Besides, most of his plans had been interrupted when Raphael and Yuri had brought home the girl. Out cold after running, head first, into Raph...So he was told anyway.

What had interested him, more than the fact that that had been enough to knock her out, was the amount of scarring and old needle marks on her skin, they were too uniform to be self inflicted and too tidily done for drug use.

That reminded him, he should check on her and see if there were any changes, if she was still unconscious or simply sleeping by now.

Idly he stretched his arms above his head, stiff joints in his shoulders, arms, neck and upper back cracking back into place, and spun his chair around to face the bed.

He stared...then blinked a few times

The girl was gone!

OK...she couldn't have gone far, a head injury enough to knock her out wouldn't allow that...unless he'd been dreaming and it hadn't happened at all...that was possible.

But then something on the bed caught his eye and he knew it must have been real. He stood and picked up whatever it was from the bed.

A broken ball bearing chain and two dog tags

One of them simply read "Betty" and had a tiny heart engraved beside it.

The other though, made his heart stop.

"B-3-7-7-Y" was clearly visible, but the words that had caused his heart to stop, "Property of TGRI Med Labs" had been crossed out, repeatedly.

He needed to wake his brothers, sister and father...the "girl" was another mutant!

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Authors Notes: Well, there's your first chapter. Stay tuned, 'cos it gets better


	3. Hide n Seek

**Author's note:** right, here's part 3. FINALLY see more of our boys in green, which I know you've been waiting for, right? ;)

**Disclaimer:** TMNT, don't own them. Yuri belongs to mah friend Lilly Lewis (who gets BIG hugs for helping me write this and letting me borrow Yuri).

Betty/B377Y & Toneki Toshiba are mine though.

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"You're seriously tellin' us that weird chick is another mutant?" Raph snorted in disbelief, "Guess again, she was totally human,"

"Actually," Yuri spoke up, "I saw her ears, and they're too pointed to be human, and she didn't smell like a human, nya."

"What did she smell like?" Don asked; Yuri's sense of smell was excellent.

"A rodent and…something else, nya."

"OK, but scent alone does not a mutant make, what makes ya so sure, Kitten?"

"This," Donny spoke up before Yuri could reply, and held out the dog tag necklace.

It was Leo who took it and looked it over. "That's not proof that she's a mutant," the leader said eventually "she could have just found it and taken a liking to it."

"You think that TGRI are in the habit of just leaving their old dog tags lying around where anyone could find them? Or that it's a coincidence that the girl's name looks like the serial number on this tag?" Don raised an eye ridge.

"Look, dude," Mikey yawned, "if it makes ya happy we'll find her and ask, right?"

"Where do we start?" Leo questioned with a sigh, the sewers were a big place, she could've gone anywhere, and if she'd gone topside, she'd be even harder to trace.

Yuri studied the dogtags. Something about the crossed out one was hauntingly familiar...Her nose twitched, as well as her ears, and her head shot up.

Someone was in one of the tunnels above them...

Don thought hard. "Judging by how hard she hit her head on Raph's thick shell-"

"Thanks a lot" Raph growled under his breath.

"-She can't be far. If anything she'd probably be near Time Square," the tech turtle continued.

Mikey stared at the floor. Small puddles of plum sauce trailed to the exit. "Why not just follow the trail she left for us?" he asked.

"What the shell are you talking abou-" Raph paused to see that Mikey was right. Looking at each other, the group headed towards the exit.

Don peered down the tunnel that the trail of sauce went down. "...Well now that we know which direction she went," he began, "we should be able to catch up in no time."

Yuri's nose twitched again. She took a few steps forward, smelling the air. After a moment, she made a low, purring sound. "I smell something, nya"

"Is it her, Yuri?" Leo asked, watching the cat-girl.

"I think so..." she mewed. She smelled some more and paused. "...The smell is coming from 5 blocks north" she meowed...she paused and shivered. The other turtles looked to Don for an explanation.

Don pondered. "That would put our target just between West Street and Liberty Street," He calculated, "we could split up and catch her at Church Street and Barclay Street."

Mikey rubbed his hands and grinned. "Awesomely radical, dude!!"

Leo looked to his siblings. "Ok, Don, you take Mikey and head down the sewers of Trinity. Raph, Yuri and I will take West Street."

Yuri looked to Leo and her ears went back. "Well…actually-"

"Just get on with it, Fearless leader," Raph muttered, already heading out.

--------------------------

Betty, meanwhile, was lost…she didn't like being lost. She also didn't like feeling sick and giddy, but right now she was all three.

She didn't know her way home from here; she'd never been this way before. In front of her, the sewer here forked off into two directions whilst her usual route only had one that went straight past her home.

Carefully, she lowered one bag and ran her thin fingers through the short, soft brown hair/fur on her head thoughtfully.

OK, she told herself, don't panic; just scent it out. Find the familiar scents from home.

Yeah, she could do that.

She tilted her head and concentrated on working out the scents.

Home was….

To the left! Great!

She started off, not as quickly as she normally would've, something, probably the giddy feeling was making her slow, she'd almost lost her footing five times already.

---------------------------------------------------

Yuri clung to Leo's arm as they went through the sewers. She could hear the rumble of a subway train above her.

She cringed as she continued to follow her brothers.

Raph peered around the sewer and frowned. "I ain't no genius like Donnie" he muttered, "but I need to know WHY the shell we are under the Church street plaza?! It would be quicker to take West Street!"

Leo sighed. "No Raph, this IS the quicker way..." He muttered. "We're right under the plaza's Subway station. We'll be at Vesey Street in no time."

Yuri's ears dropped and she gulped slightly. Anywhere but here! Why couldn't that girl have chosen to go to central park...or Times Square...or-?! Yuri's nose twitched as a familiar scent was detected. Yuri's ears perked as she forgot her phobia and ran towards the scent quickly and quietly.

Raph frowned at Leo. "Are you sayin' I'm stupid, fearless leader?" he challenged. "I live in New York City too!"

Leo crossed his arms. Raph was way too competitive. "Look, Raph, If you have something you wanna get off your shell, now's not the time. We have to find that girl and bring her back."

Raph growled in frustration. "You think I don't know that?! But bein' under the subway of what was once the-..." the red clad turtle paused and looked around, "...Where's Kitten?"

Leo paused and looked behind him.   Nothing.

"...Ah shell..."

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By now Betty was pretty certain she was being followed, her nose kept twitching, picking up a scent other than home and the earthy smell of underground.

Footsteps, her ears perked up, picking up the sound and the echoes, behind her.

Getting closer...  Home was just a little further, just two more turns away...but...

Against better judgement she turned around in time to see the cat-girl from earlier at the other end of the tunnel and instincts kicked in, she stood very still, scared once again.

Yuri stopped running as she spotted the girl. She looked stiff. Yuri tilted her head slightly...the girl looked ready to run. OK...what was the best way to make friends?

...AH!

A cat-like smile graced the cat-girl's face. "Konichi'wa! Wanna play, nya?" she called. The girl still looked ready to run. Yuri crouched and purred. "Am I 'it'? That's fine with me, nya!"

Betty eyes widened. Play?! Cats only played with animals before they ate them!

She screeched in a way that a human throat wasn't able, sounding scared, turned on her heel and bolted.

Couldn't lead the cat to where she lived, couldn't, so instead of taking the right turn to home she took a left.

Unfortunately, in her terror, she'd forgotten this was a dead end. There was nowhere else to run.

So she simply did what all small animals do when threatened and have no way out, which was to back herself as far into a corner as far as she could and cower.

When she smelt the cat approach, she just stammered in a soft voice, "P-please…D-don't e-eat me."

Yuri tilted her head in confusion. "Eat you?...Why would I want to eat you, nya?" the cat girl asked in a soft voice. "Besides, I just got through with an anchovy pizza, nya. I'm full, nya."

Her tail twitched gently, and her sapphire eyes gleamed as she approached the girl. "I'm Yuri. What's your na-" Yuri paused as she looked past the girl to the writing on the wall above her.

Yuri stared at it for a moment, before her ears went back and she slowly started to back away, whimpering.

She forgot about the girl...she forgot about her brothers...she forgot about her want to play...all that sat in front of her were the words:   "WTC sewer system perimeter. Blocked by order of the government."

This…cat...girl...cat-girl didn't want to eat her? Then...Why was she chasing her?

"'m B-3-7-7-Y," she answered softly, not understanding what had scared the cat-girl. Betty wasn't scary...was she?

"Y-yu okies?" Betty's voice was a little cracked and awkward, as if it wasn't used to forming human words and sounds, "C'n c'll me 'Betty' 'f yu want."

Yuri didn't pay any more attention to the girl. Tears started to form at her eyes, and she continued to back away...

Betty tilted her head. This was weird. Was she making this girl sad?

She moved out of her corner to see if that'd make her stop crying, or attempted to move out of the corner anyway, but once she moved away from the wall, the giddy feeling returned and her legs gave out, making her land on the ground with a THUD! And a sharp "Oof!" as it knocked the wind out of her.

Yuri's concentration was broken and she winced. Forgetting about her problem, she bounded over to the girl and put her hands on her. "Are you alright, nya?"

Watching the girl, Yuri slowly reached behind her, and activated the beacon signal on her shell cell.

"D-don't f'l g'd," came the reply. Betty'd been pale before from fear but now she looked almost deathly.

Fear from being chased and whatever virus was working on her at the moment had knocked her for six. She just wanted to go home, curl up on her bed and sleep for the daylight hours.

Yuri pondered for a moment, before she gently took the girl in her arms in a

hug. As she cradled the girl, she took out her shell cell and let it ring...  ...

"Donnie here."

"Donnie-kun. I found her, nya. She's really sick, and she looks very pale, nya." Yuri whispered into the phone, gently rubbing the girl's back. "I think we should have Master Splinter-sama have a look at her, nya"

"...Alright. Mikey and I will be right over. Give me your location." the tech turtle replied.

Yuri paused...and her ears went back. Her soft whimpering could be heard on Donnie's side of the phone.

"Yuri, are you alright?" Don asked in concern.

Betty sat very still as Yuri hugged her, she didn't have the strength required to move, not to mention that nobody except Tony ever hugged her so she didn't know how to deal with this.

She really, really wanted to go home but didn't have the energy to say so or give directions.

Yuri hugged Betty tighter to herself and she let out a shaky breath.

"Don-kun...I'm south of Vesey street." she mewed quietly. "I'm under the twin-..." She paused and added more frightened. "I want to go home big brother, nya..."

That said, she dropped the phone, and hugged the girl tighter, unable to move.

"OK, we're on our way, Yuri, stay where you are."

Betty didn't get what was upsetting the other girl so much, but she sympathised with wanting to go home, because maybe this girl didn't feel good either.

The significance of where she lived was lost on her, she just didn't understand, though occasionally some people would come and wake her up by singing hymns very loudly and shouting "LEST WE FORGET!" a lot.

She finally just gave up, closed her big brown eyes and went to sleep, with the other girl still holding her.

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Author's Notes: guessed where they are? Lilly had to tell me, as I am a Brit and therefore ignorant of New York.


	4. Revelations

**Author's note:** hope you're enjoying this ;)

**Disclaimer: **TMNT, don't own them, (I'm just borrowing them and I'll return them the second I'm done with them). Yuri belongs to mah friend Lilly Lewis

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Leo sighed as he and Raph turned into another tunnel. "Ok, this is getting ridiculous. Maybe splitting up wasn't the best of all ideas."

Raph snorted. "I could've told ya that," he muttered sarcastically. "We've been going in circles trying to find a girl who's apparently a mutant, Kitten's run off, and to top if all off I have to deal with YOU of all turtles!"

The leader sighed in frustration. "Raph would you give it a-"

_beep...beep...beep..._

Leo paused as his shell cell went off. "Leo here." he answered.

"Donnie here, Leo. Yuri's found the girl. They're south of Vesery Street. Yuri sounds scared and apparently the girl is sick. You're closer to their position than we are, can you get them and take them back to the lair?"

"Yeah. Raph and I will get them. You and Mikey wait for us near West stre-...Wait...did you say Vesery street?" Leo paused. "Why dose that sound familiar?"

Raph looked over to Leo. "Vesery?...Shell, I'm gonna kill her," he growled, marching towards a tunnel opening.

Leo followed Raph, looking stuck. "Hey Don?" he spoke into the phone. "Isn't Vesery the street just north of the Trade-...Oh shell..."

"Yeah, I know, we need to get her out of there as quickly as possible. We'll see you on West Street. Donnie out." and the tech turtle rang off.

When the two rival brothers arrived it was to find Yuri shivering and holding tightly to the limp, sleeping body of the supposed mutant.

"Hey, Kitten," Raph said, approaching carefully, and putting a hand on Yuri's shoulder, "It's alright, we're here now. Time to go home."

Yuri quickly flinched at Raph's touch. Looking up quickly, it was to find her brothers peering down at her and the girl. Yuri swallowed as reality hit her, and she slowly got up, allowing Leo to take the sleeping girl into her arms.

Yuri kept her eyes on the ground and continued to shiver.

Raph gently tugged her, setting a hand on her back. "C'mon' Kitten...let's go home." he said quietly.

Leo held the mutant girl gently and looked back to his siblings. "...Hey Yuri...C'mon'...We'll let you have first dibs on dinner..."

Yuri looked up and nodded, once again her mind was on the girl. "Do-...do you think she'll like anchovies, nya?" she mewed.

"Who knows?" Said Leo, slightly amazed at how little the girl in his arms weighed, he swore he felt vertebra through the cloth of her shirt. She didn't even seem to register that she'd been picked up or that her bags had fallen from her now sleeping grasp.

"Hey, someone get those?" he asked softly, so he didn't accidentally wake her. She really did look sick, her face was mostly pale but her cheeks were flushed.

"Yeah, yeah," Raphael picked them up carelessly with one hand, "let's just get outta here, Fearless One."

Yuri tilted her head and gave Raph a small nuzzle against his strong arm. She studied the girl for a bit before she realized Leo had started walking. She looked at the ground, and pondered...

...Why do I smell a bat?

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"What happened?" the orange clad turtle asked, looking at the supposed mutant girl, passed out in Leo's arms, "She run head first into Raph again?" and snickered at his own joke, before Raph slapped him upside the head.

"Save the jokes, laughing boy," the tough turtle advised, "we gotta get her an' Yuri back to the lair, they've not exactly had a great experience."

"She looks really sick," Don commented and pressed a green hand to the sleeping girl's forehead, "she got a high fever. I'm with Raph on this one, we need to get her back to the lair, quickly."

Mikey tilted his head. "A little pale nothin! The chick's as white as a sheet!"

Yuri looked around. She usually didn't come in these parts of the sewers alone. Ears perked, she turned to Don. "What street are we on, Donnie-kun, nya? I wanna go home, nya"

Mikey pondered..."OH! I think Don said that we're on We- muph!!!" Mikey's eyes widened in surprise as both Don's and Raph's hands covered his mouth.

Yuri stared at them...then giggled. "You guys are funny, nya. I see what's going on, nya. If you wanted me to lead the way home, all ya had to do was ask, nya."

"Yeah, that's right," Don nodded, shooting Mikey a 'keep your mouth shut!' glare, "we want you to lead the way home. You get to be leader for awhile, cool huh?"

"Ain't that right, Mikey?" Raph added, keeping his hand firmly over his younger brother's mouth.

The now muted turtle nodded vigorously, and finally both brothers moved their hands. "Bleh! When's the last time you guys washed your hands?" he grumbled.

Yuri giggled again and turned around, smelling the air.

Water...Water...Anchovies...THAT WAY!!! Yuri mewed softly and began to head south, her four brothers closely following.

Leo glanced down to the 'mutated' girl once more. Hopefully Master Splinter would know how to help her.

The girl in question didn't even move, just slept, breathing deep and evenly, even though she was jostled and her head lolled around slightly from the movement of Leo's walk.

Soon enough, under the guidance of Yuri's sense of smell, they arrived back at the lair where Splinter sat at the table, sipping a mug of tea, in waiting for their return.

Yuri mewed happily as she leapt into the lair. Such a good feeling to be home...

She stopped by Splinter and kneeled by him, eyes dancing. "Good Evening, Master Splinter-sama, nya!" she chirped. "We're back, nya!"

Master Splinter nodded slightly at the cat-girl, and rose, setting his tea down. A stern look was upon his face. "Were have you kids been?" his old, yet respective voice demanded. "I trust you did not go to the surface?"

Leo did a slight bow, mindful of the sleeping girl in his arms. "No Master Splinter. We left to find our guest when she left."

Master Splinter sighed. "How far did you go? It's been well over an hour"

"Uh, well..." Don started, then the four turtles looked pointedly at Yuri, indicating that they couldn't talk about it in front of her.

"Yuri," Mikey said, "Why don'tcha go get your anchovy pizza, dudette? Go on, you get first dibs."

When the cat-girl had retreated to the kitchen, mewing happily about anchovy pizza, Leo explained about Yuri catching the girl's scent and finding her near the now closed off World Trade sewer system (though he left out the part about him and Raphael arguing yet again).

The girl suddenly stirred, took a deep breath and her eyes fluttered opened a few times, but they soon closed and she was deeply asleep once again

Master Splinter listened patiently, before looking down in thought. "...I see...bring the girl here. I wish to examine her."

Leo obeyed, walking towards the sensei and kneeling down. He gently set the girl down and made sure that she was in a safe and comfortable position.

Splinter set a hand on the girls forehead and examined her...

"Raphael...explain to me how this young woman was found"

"Me an' Kitten were goin' topside ta get pizza," Raph explained, "Yuri went up first, said she saw the girl pressed against the wall. When Yuri said 'hi' she freaked, jumped down the manhole an' ran head first inta me, like she din't even see me, 's when she got knocked out an' we brought 'er back the' first time, ta let Donnie look 'er over."

"All the scarring and needle marks on her are pretty impressive. The scars are way too neat to be self inflicted, besides, you can see where they've been sewn up, and the needle marks are too regular for drug use." The brainy turtle added.

Splinter studied the scars on the girl's torso. Donatello had a point...the stitches were way too neatly done to be self-inflicted.

He felt the girl's forehead once again. "...She is running a temperature..." he muttered. He looked up. "Donatello. Go into the kitchen and retrieve a cold, damp cloth. Also, tell your sister to prepare some herbal tea." He ordered.

"Right away, Master Splinter," and the brainy headed to the kitchen, where Yuri was contentedly eating her anchovy pizza.

"Hey, Yuri, Master Splinter wants you to make some herbal tea," he informed her as he wetted a cloth with cold water and rung it out over the sink before returning to the room with the supposed mutant.

Yuri watched Don leave in confusion. Shrugging it off, she wiped her mouth and leapt onto the counter, standing on her toes, trying to reach for the said tea.

So far she liked the new girl. Her reaction to seeing four giant turtles and a mutated cat-human was similar to April's. Yuri giggled. People were so funny. But there was something about her that she couldn't shake...

Finally she reached the tea bags and quickly brewed them. Checking the temperature to make sure it wasn't too hot, she happily pranced out with the needed tea.

Mikey grinned broadly. "This is gettin' old, dudes. Does EVERYONE have to faint at the site of three weird turtles, a cute cat, and a rather handsome turtle?" he asked, flexing his muscles.

This earned him another slap from Raph, "Don' t flatter yerself, Mikey."

Donatello dutifully handed the cool cloth to Splinter. The girl hadn't even moved an inch, except for twisting her head to one side, away from the light, giving them all a good look at the single scar on her right cheek.

Whoever had cut her up had obviously not been terribly interested in her face. Either that or she'd left before they could do anymore damage. Both thoughts were rather chilling though.

Splinter gently laid the cloth over the girl's head, earning a stir from her, but nothing more. Splinter looked to Donatello. "Where are the dogtags that this girl once had?" He asked.

Donatello quickly handed him the said dogtags, allowing the Sensei to look over them.

"Don said that she must've dropped them before she attempted to leave," The lead turtle said, answering Splinter's questioning looks.

The rat sighed. "I thought they had been stopped by now," he muttered. "But apparently TGRI labs are still functional."

CRASH!!!

Five heads turned quickly towards the kitchen, where the crash had come from.

"Kitten!" it was Raph who reached the kitchen first, "ya OK?"

Yuri looked up from where she sat, dripping wet with tea. A small teacup was safely cradled in the cat's hands, with warm tea inside.

Yuri's ear twitched slightly. "I'm fine Raph-kun," she said quietly. "It's not like I fell off a building again, nya..." Her ears went back. "Sorry about the mess...It will be cleaned, nya"

"Don' worry 'bout it," the red clad turtle advised, "Jus' bring the tea through when yer ready...Mikey'll give ya a hand ta clean up first though."

And promptly the youngest turtle found himself pushed into the kitchen.

Betty, meanwhile, slept as if she hadn't slept for months, she stirred every now and then, when the cold cloth was replaced, but never once woke up.

Yuri quickly stopped Raph and handed him the teacup. "uhm...the tea's already ready, nya" she said quietly, bowing her head as he took it. Promptly she returned into the kitchen and began to pick up the teapot's pieces.

Leo looked over to Raph questioningly before he looked back down to the girl. "Hey Don? You don't think she might've hit her head like Yuri had two months ago, do you?"

Splinter examined the girl. "It appears the girl is just suffering from exhaustion..."

"What do you think she's been doing to tire herself out this much, Master?" Leo asked.

"Do you think she really could be another mutant?" Don asked. It seemed pretty possible right now. Though, she was so...human looking, except for her ears, which were pointed, making her look almost like an elf.

Splinter sighed. "I am unsure...I believe all we can do is wait" He answered.

Yuri listened from the kitchen, and looked back to the mess she had made. Another mutant...that was fine...but...from TGRI...

"I've got to do all I can to help her, nya" she muttered to herself.

In her sleep, Betty suddenly coughed, then murmured something faint.

Splinter leaned closer, hoping she'd repeated it...after a few moments she coughed a few more times and repeated herself.

"No meds," she murmured, voice faint but fearful, "no more."

Splinter looked up. "Raphael, the tea." he ordered.

Raph jumped slightly, then nodded, kneeling down and gently putting the cup against the girls lips.

Leo watched. Somehow he felt this was a bad idea…

----------------------------

Author's Note: Whew! This is extra short. Sorry, but I'll make up for it in the next one, I swear


	5. My Name is

_**Author's Note:**__ Before I let you get on with this chapter, I wanna give a quick shout out to my two reviewers: __**Spiritual Stone**__ & __**ChibiLover123**__, you guys are awesome, and I thank you for your words of encouragement _

_OK, now back to the turtles…._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Unless pigs have learnt how to fly, I don't own TMNT_

--------------------------------------------

"Hey guys?" Mikey asked, walking out of the kitchen. "What are we gonna do with the chick's bags?"

"What's in them?" Don asked, himself wondering why they'd been so important that she hadn't left them behind the first time she'd left.

Mikey checked one bag. "Fruit," he said, "lots of it."

The second one, the one from china town, the one that had leaked the plum sauce, made him recoil. "Eww, gross!" he exclaimed, "guess this was way past its sell by date, it's full of wormy things."

Leo's assumption regarding the girl and the tea was correct as she immediately, and apparently reflectively, pressed her lips together tightly, not allowing even a drop into her mouth. In her exhausted and fevered state she must have been assuming that they were trying to give her medicine that she didn't want.

Raph grunted in frustration. "C'mon...yer as stubborn as Casey with those dumb dragons" he muttered sarcastically, still trying to get her to drink the tea.

The girl kept her mouth closed and even turned her head away violently, making most of the tea spill out of the cup and onto the floor. She was still asleep, her body acting on autopilot it seemed.

Splinter paused. "Who was the last to encounter the girl?"

"Yuri." Don replied, nodding towards the cat-girl.

Yuri stiffened as Splinter looked towards her, and she had a right mind to retreat back into the kitchen.

"Yuri," the old rat said gently, "Did you learn anything about this girl when you encountered her? Anything at all?"

Yuri wanted to say she did...but she didn't...but what would they think?...

Yuri folded her hands slightly. "I-... When I was following her, she displayed a deep fear of me, nya...she thought I was going to eat her... and when she talked...she sounded like a bat squeaking, nya..."

Yuri wanted to hit herself. That sounded so stupid...

"A bat?" Splinter looked thoughtful for a while, and then sighed deeply, "it is as I feared. I believe that she is indeed another mutant."

Yuri looked down slightly. This was not ok...this was NOT ok...this was-...huh?

Yuri looked up slightly. "Raph-kun...tell me what street we were under when we found her, nya"

Raph hesitated. "Yuri, you really don't need-"

"TELL ME, NYA!!" Yuri hissed.

"Alright, alright," the tough turtle replied, making 'calm down' motions with his hands. "Fine...it was north of Vesey Street, under what's left of the world trade. OK, Kitten?"

Yuri shivered slightly, but then crossed her arms. "North of Vesey Street?"...her ears went back as she tried to locate that...

Yuri turned her back on her brothers, and proceeded to mumble to herself. She muttered about a building being slightly north of the North tower itself, but about three blocks off.

A gasp soon followed.

"What?" the red clad turtle half asked, half demanded "what is it?"

Yuri turned. "The old TGRI lab used to be five blocks north of the North tower itself, nya!" She crossed her arms. "But...It was completely destroyed by the collapse, nya...so how could it still-"

Mikey held a hand up. "Hey, uh Yuri? You sound like Don...in a bad way..."

The cat's attention was pulled to the stirring girl. She bound over and kneeled by Leo and Splinter, taking one of the girls' hands, "Maka-san?" she mewed, hoping she would remember her voice.

By some miracle the girl turned her head slightly towards Yuri's voice.

"...m'k 'm stop _hurtin' _me..." her voice was faint but sounded feverish, scared and on the verge of tears, as if she were in the middle of a nightmare, "..I...dun wanna...stay here 'nymore..."

Yuri's ears went back, and she gently took the girl from her father's grip, cradling her delicately. "Ashi Ashi..." she soothed. "No one will hurt you, watashi tomotachi, nya..."

The girl cringed but then went still asleep deeply once more.

"This," said Mikey "is definitely going to be a weird night."

An hour later, Yuri had also fallen asleep next to the strange girl, leaving the responsibility in the hands of her brothers.

Leo sat, legs crossed, watching them. His eyes stayed focused on the new girl, and he appeared to be in deep thought.

"...Don?" he muttered. "What if it's true?...What if TGRI labs did relocate. How many other mutants would be in the city?"

"I really have no idea." the brainy turtle admitted, watching the two girls, "could be that she's the only one or there could be hundreds of them, there's no way to tell."

The girl suddenly stirred again, coughed a little and then, surprisingly, gave a soft yawn/groan and gingerly pulled herself up into a sitting position (there was the slight sound of bones cracking back into place as she did) and rubbed her eyes...but she didn't open them...then another cough racked her thin body.

Leo sat up in a ready position. He still remembered the first encounter with April...ha...not pretty. However, it appeared that maybe this girl would probably take it better...he hoped.

Betty started feeling her front and checking her pockets, all without opening her eyes once, as if looking for something. Then gave an annoyed sounding sigh when she apparently didn't find what she was seeking and tilted her head up, sniffing the air.

Blindly she reached out a hand, searching for something else. Her bags, maybe?

It looked like she was attempting to leave again.

The cat next to her moaned as Betty stirred. Sleepily she reached out, hugged one of the girl's arms and went back to sleep.

Leo finally decided to speak up as the girl looked around. "Are you alright, Miss? You've been asleep for hours."

She didn't reply, but turned her head towards Leo's voice whilst trying to tug her arm free of Yuri's grasp; her eyes remained firmly shut, though now they were screwed up against the brighter light where Leo sat.

Then she coughed violently again, almost fit to bring up a lung.

Leo scrabbled up as she coughed, trying to make sure she was alright. "Don! I think our guest is in need of some of Yuri's tea," he put a hand on Betty's back and tried to calm her down. "Hey, it's ok. Just try to calm down..."

Betty immediately whirled around and bit him on the arm, two sets of fangs nicking his skin for a moment before she hissed "Don't _touch_ me!" in a low dangerous voice, "leave me _alone_!"

"YEOW!!! What was that for?!" Leo yelped out in surprise and pain, immediately waking Yuri.

Yuri scrambled up and tried to figure out what was going on. She finally grabbed Betty by the shoulders and held her down. "Shh! Maka-chan! Shh!" She tried to speak softly, but with Betty struggling around, and the fact that Yuri was already tired...

"HISS!!! YAMERO!!!" Yuri hissed.

Betty screamed. She couldn't open her eyes, the light was too bright even with her eyes shut and now people that she couldn't see were _touching_ her.

For the first time in her 5 months of being human, tears leaked out from under her closed lashes. "Jus' lemme _go_!" she begged, "I jus' w'nna go _home_!"

And another fit of coughing shook her violently.

Yuri made a silent growl, before controlling her cat-like instincts. I'm acting like Raph-kun. She sighed and made a tiny mew.

"But I thought we were friends, nya" she said in a more hurt voice than anything. She paused and added lowly, "besides...I don't wanna go back to the Twins, nya...Why do you live near the twins? Doesn't that bother you, nya?"

Betty stopped struggling, turning her face towards Yuri..."T-twins? wha' twins?" she asked confused, then something more pressing cropped up again. "c'n yu PLEASIES turn th' light off? It _**hurts**_!"

Yuri paused and pondered for a bit...that would be fine, considering that she could see in total darkness. She gently rested a hand on Betty's and looked up to Leo in question.

Leo paused, and then nodded in consent.

Yuri turned. "Raph-kun!! Please turn off the lights, nya!"

In an instant, the lights in the living room went out, leaving only the dim light from the kitchen.

Betty sighed gratefully, sat up again and finally opened her eyes. They shone luminous in the dark, because now she could see clearly.

"Yu're...NOT f'rm th' labs," she said slowly, "'n' yu're NOT tryin' t' force me back." she coughed again with less intensity because she wasn't as scared now. "Why'd you go lookin' f'r me? What've I dun t' yu yu'd all stop me goin' home?"

Yuri tilted her head slightly. The language that this girl spoke...sounded like a...

"You did nothing to us, Maka-chan" Yuri replied. "But when we first met, you hurt yourself by running in to my big brother, nya. We decided to take care of you until you got better, nya." She smiled kindly. "Besides, Raph-kun has a pretty thick shell, so I'm more worried about you than him, nya"

A giggle from the cat followed. She added quietly. "But he's very nice, for a hothead, nya."

"Gee, thanks a lot, Kitten," Raph muttered under his breath.

"No-one takes carea me," Betty said, unconsciously rubbing the scar on her right cheek, "'cept Tony...n what're th' twins yu w're talkin' 'bout? What twins?"

"The Twin Towers," Don explained, "you live under them...apparently."

"I live inna bunker." she retorted, "no towers. There w'ren't 'ny towers wen I found it."

Confusion hit Leo like a brick. "The twin towers...9/11?...Ring a bell?" He asked. Maybe she was one of the people who believed it never happened.

Betty shook her head. "Thought 9/11 was th' 'mergency number?" Tony'd never told her about any twin towers...what were they?

Leo paused then motioned to Raph. He looked back to Betty. "How did you get down here anyways," he asked.

"I live d'wn here...'fter Tony lemme go f'rm the labs, I found it a week later, n I've lived here since...'s nice n dark n mostly quiet."

Yuri looked to the side, slightly, before shaking it off and looking back to the girl. "How long have you been here, Maka-chan, nya? I've never seen or smelled you before, nya." She paused and added. "And my brothers are the best of the best, and even they didn't know either, nya!"

The girl thought for awhile, seemingly adding up numbers in her mind before finally: "3 months," she said with a definite nod, then looked at Yuri curiously "what's Maka-chan mean? 'splain pleasies?"

Yuri paused slightly. "Oh! Gomenusai, nya. 'Maka' Is 'Little girl' in Japanese," the cat explained. She added, more teasingly. "Don't worry, Raph-kun hates me for it too, nya."

"Oh," Betty coughed again, covering her mouth neatly as she did.

Don, meanwhile had been processing everything she'd told them. There seemed to be one thing that would make sense…

"Miss," he said once she'd stopped, "how old are you?"

"Two." she replied instantly, though gave him a look that said it should've been obvious.

"Bogus!" Mikey exclaimed, "no way! You've gotta be at least 14!"

"'m TWO!" and she held up two fingers to demonstrate, "'m fully 'mature thankies but I'm not THAT old!"

Leo was also confused as well. "Don? What does this have to do with anything?"

Yuri stared at the young girl for a long time. What did she mean she was two? Her nose twitched slightly. "You're...You're a..."

"A bat," Betty nodded, "Rousettus aegyptiacus, smallest of the Megachiroptera."

"In English?" Raph said, rolling his eyes.

"She's an Egyptian fruit bat, the smallest of a family called The Mega bats," Don answered instantly.

"Dude! No way!!!" Mikey exclaimed, "then lady-purrs-a-lot isn't the only half human walkin' around in the sewers!"

Yuri meanwhile hadn't the foggiest of what Mikey just said. She smiled at the girl happily. "Hold on, nya" she whispered, rising and bounding towards the kitchen.

Betty tilted her head curiously after Yuri. Whilst Donatello tried to explain animal aging to Mikey

"For every human year you multiply by seven, so, if she's two years old, naturally she'd look 14."

Mikey was trying to figure this out then. "Well, if she's really two, and she looks 14...then how come we don't? 'cept Raph, all of us are good lookin'"

"She must be newly mutated, Mikey, and we mutated as infants."

"'scusies," Betty said with affront, "'m sittin _right_ _here_. Yu got questions, yu ask me. Dun talk 'bout me 'sif 'm not here. S' rude."

"We're sorry," Leo apologised.

Mikey looked over to Betty. "Yeah sorry 'bout that, little chick" he said. "Hey, did puss-in-boots get yer name yet?"

She went quiet for awhile then answered softly, eyes looking away, "B377Y...c'n c'll me 'Betty' though,"

-TBC-


	6. Food, Phone Calls & Video Games

**Author's Note:** OK, I've changed Betty's speech, that doesn't mean her English has suddenly got better, just that it's easier to read. S just imagine that her speech is broken OK?

**Disclaimer:** I SO don't own TMNT. I don't own Yuri either who is the property of my friend Lilly Lewis (pictures at yuri-blaze. deviantart .com)

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"Betty? That's better than what I've been around" Mikey said, pointing at Raph.

Quick as lighting, Yuri returned into the room, holding a plate. Momentarily sliding into Don, she kneeled in front of Betty and offered her a plateful of fruit.

Raph smacked Mikey upside the head again, "put a sock in it Mikey," he growled, "no-one's impressed 'cept you."

Betty stared at the plate warily.

"Where'd my dinner go?" she asked eventually, "I gotta bag from China Town, special..."

"Oh, you mean the one that was rotten and full of worms?" Mike spoke up, "we threw it out."

"You...threw out my dinner?" the bat girl responded, eyes wide, "you...threw...away...$3.50 worth of Mealworms in spicy plum sauce?"

Yuri looked up. "You threw it out, nya?"

Rising to her feet she advanced on Raph and Mikey. "I TOLD you to leave her stuff alone, nya! Females have things for a reason, and its NOT so males can push 'em around, nya!"

"It was an accident!" the youngest turtle raised his hands defensively, "how were we to know she hadn't gone dumpster diving for it?"

"Cool down, Kitten, we'll get 'er a new one!"

Yuri's ears went back, angrily. "ooooh, If I had an anchovy for every time I've had to deal with you, nya..." she sighed and turned around to Betty apologetically bowing. "gomenusai, nya. I only have three brothers with brains," she said, quickly back-kicking Mikey in the shin.

The orange clad turtle yelped in pain and muttered another "sorry."

"S'okies, I guess," Betty answered, she seemed torn about whether or not to eat the offered fruit, "anythin' else you want to know?" and then she coughed again, harsher than last time, as if her body were trying to expel her lungs from her ribcage.

"I...think we have some cough syrup somewhere," Don started, "I'll go get-" but got cut off by an angry shout from Betty.

"No meds!" she growled, "NO!"

Yuri quickly covered her ears, as though the pitch of the bat's shout had hurt. She looked up and frowned at Don. "Iie, nya! Don't make her take anything. I already got some herbs in her tea, so that should be help enough, nya."

Betty had backed herself into a corner and now sat hugging her knees, rocking herself gently and repeating "no meds. No more," over and over again, like a mantra.

Yuri hesitantly went back to sit by the scared bat girl once more, softly purring as she did so.

Mikey leaned over to Don. "Are you gettin' any 'a this?"

"I...think she's had a bad experience with medicines," the purple clad turtle replied, with a thoughtful look.

"No more needles, tubes, pills, bags, nasty stuff," Betty told Yuri, cuddling against her, "Tony promised, no more. No more meds ever."

Yuri stared at the girl for the longest time, before she smiled and hugged her. "No, nothing like that, nya. I promise, I won't give you any meds, nya." She purred. "But you have to promise me that you'll eat and drink something, nya. It'll make you feel better, nya"

Betty considered before heaving a deep sigh, followed by a short coughing fit, before she conceded, "'kay." and looked hopefully at Yuri, "Crickets?"

Yuri paused, wide-eyed. She pondered a bit. "hmm...AH!" The cat snapped her fingers in triumph. "I know were a bunch of them hang out, nya! I'll be right back, nya" She looked up. "Mikey-kun, do NOT do anything stupid to her, nya!" she said bounding off.

"Where exactly do you think you're going? Master Splinter said-" Leo stared.

"He said to make her feel at home, nya" the cat replied, leaving.

"Yeah...make her feel at home," Raph rolled his eyes, "What do we offer up our necks and let her drink our blood?"

"That's vampire bats, Raph," Don corrected, "Fruit bats eat fruit, nectar and some insects."

"Crickets...and mealworms in spicy plum sauce," Betty gave the orange clad turtle a LOOK.

Mikey held up his hands. "HEY! It wasn't my fault, Lady-no brains didn't keep it in important stuff!" Mikey crossed his arms. "'sides! What kind of cat is stupid enough to-

This was cut off as all three older turtles smacked him on the back of the head in succession.

"Can it, it's done," Raph warned.

"And don't bad mouth our sister," Leo advised, "We're not supposed to fight each other, remember?"

Mikey shrugged. "Oh I'm not fighting her. I'm just sassin' my 'beloved' little sister behind her back!" he paused and ducked as Raph missed him.

Don sighed and shook his head, turning back to Betty. "Is there anything else we can possibly do for you, Betty?"

"Call Tony." came the quiet reply, "gotta call him, it's Thursday."

She coughed once and scratched at the scar on her cheek distractedly.

"Tony? Who's Tony?" the purple clad turtle asked.

Mikey paused. "I'm happy tah say that there's probably no tigers livin' down 'ere either."

"My friend," the bat replied solemnly, "I gotta call him n let him know I'm okies," she looked appealingly at Don, "pleasies you call him for me?"

"Uhm..." Don looked over to his oldest brother in question.

Leo stood. "We're going to have to ask Master Splinter about that one" He looked towards Raph. "Keep an eye on them." He added quietly. "and make sure Mikey doesn't do anything..."

"I resent that!" Mike called after his older brother. "So," he now addressed Betty, "ya wanna play some video games?"

"Video wha-?" the bat asked, tilted her head curiously; she'd come out of her corner but wasn't sitting right by them, just close enough that they didn't have to shout at her.

Mikey grinned, oh ho ho, so she was a complete video game novice, eh?

"Care to make a bet?" he asked cheerfully.

"Bet?" came the reply.

Oh! This was going to be fun.

"Come sit yourself down with a controller," he invited, "I'll show ya."

Don sighed. "Mikey I'm not sure this is a good ide-" he paused. "You might scare her"

"It's only made up," the joker replied, handing Betty a controller as she shyly sat down beside him, "I promise I'll go easy."

Betty stared at the little plastic thing in her hands whilst Mikey turned on the gaming system...very gently something inside her head went "click" and she watched the title screen intently.

Donnie rested his face in his hand, and proceeded to join them. "Hey Raph, go find lady-meows-alot. She's been out long enoug- MIKEY NOT THAT LEVEL! IT'S TOO HARD!!!"

A few seconds later both turtles stared as the batgirl's character ploughed easily through the enemies as if they were first levels

"I...I don't think anyone told _her_ that," Mikey stammered in awe.

Betty sat very still, with her tongue between her teeth in concentration. This was easy...and fun, she had to admit. (Unknown to all three of them, this savantism was the direct result of some electric-shock treatments the bat had been given at the lab)

Don gaped, "She's...she's good...she's even better than YOU Mikey!"

"Hey I didn't say that! That's harsh, dude!" Mikey whined

A few minutes later they both sat stunned as Betty beat the "mega boss" at the end of the game with a few presses of a button.

As the end cut-scene rolled she put down her controller, tilted her head at Mikey and said "Another game?"

"How...did you...? I thought you said you've never played before?"

"Haven't. This 's my first time."

Don's mouth fell open. He glanced towards Mikey, and then started chuckling softly. Covering his mouth he nodded. "Alright _snicker_ we've got plenty were that_...snort_ came from..." Trying his best to not laugh, he stood up.

"Donatello. Where is our guest?"

The purple clad turtle turned quickly in time to see Master Splinter walk in, followed by Leo. The rat looked stern.

Betty sniffed...another rodent...older...this was his territory and she was in it...

She instantly started making herself seem small and unthreatening (This is a trait all rodents/small animals share - stops larger small animals from turning them into dinner.)

She put the controller down and sat quietly, eyes cast downwards.

Donnie stepped aside. "She's over there, playing Mikey's games. She's been getting along fine, Master Splinter..."

Splinter nodded and headed over towards the girl. "Donatello, where is your brother?"

Betty cowered back a little more and made a small crackling noise in her throat, in rodent speak it amounted to: "I'm in your territory by accident, please don't eat me."

"I think he went to check on Yuri," the brainy one replied, "she went to fetch something for our guest."

Master Splinter nodded, then kneeled by the trembling girl. She seemed too young to be questioned in such a manner like they did with April.

And being warm-hearted...he tried something simple.

"Welcome to our home, young bat..." he said warmly.

"Thankies...?" she replied in an uncertain voice...OK, another one who wasn't going to eat her..."I'm B377Y," she introduced herself, "you can call me Betty."

"Very well, Betty-san." The rat replied. "I am told that you are requesting to commune with the surface..."

"Mm" she nodded, "Gotta call Tony, let him know I'm okies 'cos he worries 'bout me bein' on my own," she looked appealingly at Splinter, "pleasies call him, I don't like him worryin' about me."

Master Splinter sighed. "A call might place us all in danger..."

"...She won't tell anyone, nya..."

Splinter looked up to a newly arrived Yuri & Raph, both holding jars of crickets. Yuri looked sympathetic. "Master Splinter-sama...I know she won't tell anyone about us, nya. She's tomodachi"

Master Splinter pondered.

"You don't wanna be found," Betty nodded, "I get it...'cos I don't wanna be found either. Tony's my friend, he got me outta th' lab, pleasies lemme call him?"

Master Splinter gave a thought. "...Very well. But please allow my daughter to escort you, miss Betty."

Yuri let out a small "yes!" before latching onto Raph, getting a few crickets on him.

"'Kay," the bat nodded, stood up and blinked, "do you have my glasses?" she asked the room in general, wondering if she'd dropped them here.

Yuri blinked, then looked up at Raph in question. "What glasses, nya?"

"Dark ones, I wear 'em 'cos the lights hurt 'm eyes," she explained, "normally keep 'em in my pocket if' Im not wearin 'em."

Yuri paused..."OH those! I stored them in my pad, 'cause you dropped them, nya. Hold on nya!" She ran off, purposely stepping on Raph's foot as she did so.

Yuri jumped kicked each wall, flying as though she were in danger, till she reached the very top of the lair and crawled into a snug looking hole in the wall.

Betty coughed behind her suddenly. "Nice room," she commented once it'd stopped.

The batgirl smiled, showing Yuri a small glimpse of fangs, but it wasn't menacing, just a smile.

"Yeah...Raph doesn't think so though..." she muttered, digging under her boxes of kitty treats.

Betty shrugged in reply, "'its nice, it's dark and quiet."

Yuri's ears went back slightly. "Hai..." she replied. "...A-ha. Here they are, nya" She pulled out a pair of delicate shades. "Gomenusai nya..."

"Thankies!" Betty immediately put them on and sighed happily, this was better, the light was much more bearable with her glasses on.

She smiled broadly at Yuri now. "Call Tony now?" she asked.

Yuri smiled and nodded. "Hai." She reached back and handed Betty her shell cell, opening it as she did. "Our little secret nya. Make sure you don't tell Don-kun, ok, nya?"

The bat nodded in response and carefully typed in a number. A local one.

After a few moments a male voice was heard. "Toneki Toshiba."

"Tony," Betty said happily, "'s me"

"Betty!" the voice took on a relieved tone, "Thank god, you're alright?"

"Mh hmm, I'm okies Tony, thankies."

"You're late calling, what happened?"

"Uh...Tony...are you free t'm'rrow?"

"Why?"

"'cos...you're not gonna believe me 'f I tell you."

"Yes, I'm free...tomorrow afternoon anyway. OK?"

"Okies. B'bye"

"Take care, I'll see you tomorrow, Bets."

Yuri stared at her, aghast. "...Tutsie?" she mewed

Betty tilted her head, she didn't speak Japanese, "What?"

Yuri's ears went back and she bared her teeth slightly. With that much done, she jumped out of the room, and landed SMACK on the floor.

"AAAAHHH!!!" Mikey paused. "...ooooh...Yuri! Do NOT jump from you're room, while I'm playing my game!" He whined, "you made me die."

Betty landed neatly, almost gliding, and grabbed Yuri's shoulders.

She leaned forward and whispered into the cat's ears "I want him to lookit my HEAD," she explained quietly, "I'm NOT sellin you out. It's a stupid thing to do...sell your friends out."

Yuri paused and sighed. Cats were known for jumping to conclusions frequently. She turned and bowed. "Gomenusai, nya" she mewed.

The bat smiled and hugged her..."you don't eat me," she said quietly, "I don't sell you out...and if you do eat me I can't sell you out 'nyway."

"Betty?" Don asked, holding the jar of crickets. "Are you ready for these?"

She looked over at Don and her eyes lit up behind her glasses. "Dinner?"

Don smiled. "Yeah. The stuff that was made for you. Do you wanna join us for dinner?"

Mikey's head shot up at the word "Dinner". "HEY RAPH!! LAST ONE THERE WAS HATCHED IN A ROTTEN EGG!!" He called; leap frogging over the couch.

"Th-they ALWAYS like this?" Betty asked, raising an eyebrow, she could feel a cough building up but was trying to quash it.

She'd never had any brothers or sisters. She barely even remembered her mother, whom she associated with a heart beat, warm fur and loving licks across her (then) snout, before they were replaced with...the not so good memories.

Yuri nodded. "Oh yes, nya. It's not much to get used to, but I've had to deal with them since I was a kitten, nya." She looked around. "Go join Don-kun. I'll be there in a minute, nya."

"'kay," quietly the bat followed the four loud turtles, hoping her ears would survive the experience.

Mikey looked over as the batgirl entered the kitchen. "Heya, Batty! Waz up?"

THWACK!

Raph leaned over towards the orange clad turtle. "Havn't'cha done enough damage already, pea brain?"

Don quickly pulled out a chair. "Don't listen to Mikey. Here ya go, Betty. You're dinner's waiting for you"

"Thankies" she replied and sat down gently...then grinned at the jar of crickets in front of her. Not quite mealworms in sauce, but close enough, she thought.

The look in her eyes was primal...close to how Yuri looked when watching goldfish.

"I hope everything's to you're liking, Betty." Don said, sitting next to her.

Mikey tilted his head. "Is she really gonna- muph!!"

Yuri looked up from were she duct-taped her brother's mouth. "Bon Appitite, Betty-chan!" she mewed.

Betty smiled, took a single cricket between her fingers and delicately bit into it with a small 'crackle' with every sign of enjoyment.

"Yummies," she said cheerfully once it was gone, "thankies Yuri"

Yuri bowed slightly, ears perked with joy. "Doitashi mashite, nya" She replied, purring.

Leo smiled at the two, and then looked over to Betty. "Are you able to make your way home safely from here?" he asked.

Betty nodded affirmative because she had another cricket in her mouth and Tony had taught her it was rude to speak with her mouth full.

"As long as no-one chases me," she shot a teasing smile at Yuri, "I'm okies now."

However, the cough she'd been fighting down for the last 10 minutes finally won her over and she once again coughed as if her lungs were trying to break out of her ribcage.

Yuri shot up and her ears went back. "Betty-chan! You ok, nya!?"

The purple clad turtle did the same. "Whoa, Betty, take it easy. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she managed between coughs, "It'll go away by itself." she waved away their concern with the hand that wasn't covering her mouth.

Eventually the coughing subsided and she went back to eating her crickets as if it hadn't happened.

Yuri watched her silently, and then looked to the table. Something was strange...and she wanted to make sure it wasn't anything dangerous.

Mikey looked over to Betty. "Exactly how do you eat those? Are they good?" he asked, grimacing.

"Pick one out, put in your mouth, chew n swallow," the bat offered him the jar companionably, "yummies. Try."

The tiny insects jumped a little in the jar. They looked disgusting to the orange clad turtle.

"Nah thanks, I'll stick to pizza."

"Okies." she offered the jar to Don, who was beside her, "You?"

Don shrunk away a bit. "Nonono, no thanks." he said quickly. "You need your strength"

Raph paused as she started to look at him. "Don't even think about it, batty"

Yuri giggled and made chicken sounds.

"But it's good," Betty insisted, "better than most meats...unless you buy the ones in chocolate"

"Seriously?" Mikey raised an eye ridge at her, "these things come covered in chocolate?"

The batgirl nodded, "and toffee, but I don't like toffee." and she put another of the jumping insects in her mouth and swallowed it, the look on her face one of pure bliss.

It was both horrible and fascinating to see...of course, nothing in the world could put the four turtles off pizza, not even watching someone eat insects and actually enjoy it.

Yuri giggled again as she watched her brother's expressions. "Aw you guys look so cute when yer scared, nya" she giggled.

"Not scared," Raph defended himself, "just...not into the whole bug eatin' scene."

It really was interesting that the bat seemed to have retained her species eating habits, or so Don thought. But there were still the questions he wanted to ask about the scars and needle marks and her aversion to medicine.

True, from what the dog tags said, she must have been a lab animal, but how much could they have done to her to make her that violently against them?

And Tony...the one who 'let her go'...gah! So many questions and so few she seemed likely to want to answer.

Mikey chewed on a piece of pizza and watched Betty eat. The last thing on his mind was questions about the girl...he just wanted to know when she'd stop eating those creepy crawlies!

Leo finally spoke up. "Are you sure there's nothing else you need right now?"

"Positive, thankies," the bat answered firmly, for some reason it was starting to get under her skin that this _zoulhoufat_ kept asking her that.

Seemed to be that he was implying she couldn't care for herself. Maybe she was just reading into it too much, so she went back to eating quietly as she could.

Yuri rested her head on the table and kicked Leo's shin. Silently, she continued to watch her new friend eat. Finally she shrieked as one of the crickets landed on her head.

Betty gently leaned forward and, quietly and calmly removed it, this one she didn't eat (it'd been on someone's head after all) but put it back in the now empty jar.

"Thankies for finding these for me." Betty said gently. She was starting to feel woozy again and now she felt a little nauseous, but she fought it down, along with another cough, she contented herself with wiping a hand up and down her face and through her hair a few times.

Yuri stood up and her cat ears went back. "Betty-chan? Can I help you home, nya? You look like you need Kobanwa, nya..."

"Ko-what?" Betty blinked behind her glasses, "but...yes, pleasies. I wanna go home now, thankies."

It sounded good; she just wanted to lie down for a while. Tomorrow Tony would come and see her to keep her company and cuddle with her for a few hours. Fruit bats were social creatures that lived together in communes; it some times got lonely for her to be by herself.

She stood up carefully, steeling herself in case her legs decided to make her fall down again, but this time they stayed still.

"Thankies again for havin' me here," she told the turtle brothers and Splinter politely. "and thankies for lookin' after me."

Splinter bowed slightly at her, as did Leo. "You are welcome here, Betty-san." Splinter replied with a peaceful smile.

Yuri let Betty lead before she followed the bat, ready to take her home.

Splinter watched as they left. "...Donatello...Michelangelo..." he softly ordered.

"Yes master?" the two turtles chorused immediately, though they already had a slight inkling of what was coming next.

"Make sure neither of them are harmed. Do not let yourselves be known."

"Yes, Master Splinter," the recited and dutifully got up from the table to follow their sister and her new friend.

-------------------------------------------------

Despite how bad she felt, Betty now found it easier to navigate her way home from the lair.

Before long they reached the Tower's sewer system, but rather than leading Yuri back to the dead end, she went left and led her to another part entirely.

An old wooden door was just about visible on the right hand side of the tunnel. Betty chirruped and opened it; the interior surprised Yuri slightly.

In every society there's an idiot who, in times of possible war, will build a bunker to live in and do so until they die and become dust.

The one that Betty lived in was from the 1950's, it wasn't as big as the Lair but it was enough for her. It had 3 rooms, a kitchen/living room, a bathroom and a small bedroom. The furniture looked old but clean (originally having been helped by Tony, Betty now kept it clean by herself)

Oddly there was a sturdy, padded bar screwed to the ceiling, but compared to the rest of the place, it seemed new.

It was lit by a single dim light bulb, one of the cheap kinds that gave just about enough light so that Betty didn't need her glasses to be there.

"'s where I live," the bat girl told Yuri, putting her bag of fruit on a counter, "found it by accident,"

Yuri gaped at the sight. "Nya!" she mewed, impressed. "I never knew there was another cavey down here, nya! It's very nice, Betty-chan, nya" she said, gently blowing some dust off of a counter.

The cat was more than curious. Eyes big, ears perked, and tail swishing, she let out a small mew to relive her cat-like excitement.

Finally she turned. "So...you've been here for three months, nya?" she asked, ears returning to their relaxed state.

"Mmh hmm," Betty nodded, putting a bag of apples into her small (pizza free) fridge; then added quietly "'til then I lived inna cage, n then I lived with Tony f'r 2 weeks, n now I live down here 'cos it's safe."

Further along the counter was a small sketch book and a much-chewed biro, given that they weren't covered in dust, they must have been new or regularly used.

Yuri approached the counter and studied the sketchbook. "You draw too?" she asked. She looked around. "Being away from them...that would scare me, nya, " Her ears went back as she turned to the first page, it was titled: "things that scare me" in a small scrawl.

Another page, it was a detailed biro drawing of a filled syringe, it made Yuri wince.

"Draw nightmares..." Betty confessed quietly noticing the wince, which was followed by another lot of coughing.

Yuri paused and looked back. "You don't have the twins in here, do you, nya?"

Betty shook her head, "dunno what they look like, n what's up there," she nodded towards topside, "dun scare me...jus draw what scares me...my nightmares n...bad memories."

She yawned, covering her mouth politely, though not quick enough to hide her bat-like fangs from view.

Yuri double took at Betty, before returning to looking at the pictures.

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Man…All girls ever do is talk..." Mikey complained quietly. "How much longer is this gonna take?

"As long as it takes," Don hissed back, he was a lot more patient than Mikey, plus he was kind of hoping that eavesdropping on the girl might answer few questions he wanted answers to without him needing to ask.

--------------------------------------------------------

One picture, about 6 pages in seemed to be one Betty'd worked on longest. A bat in a cage, a strange tube attached to its stomach and surgical tools scattered on the desktop around it.

The detailing was beautiful but the subject...made Yuri feel sick.

Betty was rubbing her eyes tiredly by now, "'m gonna go t' bed...thankies f'r seein' me here...come see me again?"

Yuri shook her head, snapping out of her horror. She gently put the book down and turned, "Hai, nya! I'll come and see you again, nya. If Leo-kun doesn't mind, then I'll come visit, nya." she purred, approaching her new friend and giving her a gentle hug.

"Thankies," Betty chirruped and hugged back gently, "c'me t'mrrow 'f yu want. B'byes." she smiled gently and headed into the bedroom, rubbing her eyes, yawning and coughing a little.

------------------------------------------

"Why's it so quiet in there now?" Mikey asked.

"How should I know? They're in there and we're out here," the brainy turtle answered, Mikey'd been driving him crazy since they go there.

Mikey was more then bored. "Then I say one of us, preferably you, goes and takes a peak inside," the youngest turtle said.

"Why me?" his brother answered, raising an eye ridge "what exactly are you expecting me to see in there?"

"It's gotta be more interesting than staring at a closed door!"

They would've argued further, but the door started opening by its self.

The two turtle brothers dived quickly into the shadows.

Yuri soon padded out, and closed the door softly behind her. Giving off a small yawn, she slowly headed down the tunnels...until she slowly looked down the path towards the blocked off part of the sewer.

There's gotta be more to her than meets the eye, nya. She thought. Maybe I oughta stay here and make sure she's ok for the night...

What was Yuri doing?! Both brothers wondered, she was supposed to be going straight home, not hesitating...They both prayed she'd head home.

Then Don got an idea and called Yuri on her Shell Cell.

Yuri jumped, startled, and fumbled with her cell. Gently opening it, she answered. "Konichi'wa, nya. Yuri here, nya"

"Yuri, it's Donnie...thought you'd like to know that..."

Mikey mouthed the name of a movie at him quickly.

"Cat's Don't Dance' is on TV tonight, we thought you might want to watch it."

"COOL! I never got to see the ending of that, nya! I'll be right-" Yuri's ears suddenly perked as high as they could go...

Suddenly she clenched her fist. "...Don-kun?...Where are you, nya?"

"Somewhere..." he answered lamely. "...Outside the lair."

"Shh! Don't tell her that!" Mikey moaned.

"...MASTER SPLINTER-SAMA SENT YOU!" she hissed. "For once I get a mission of my own, he lied, nya..."

"He just wanted to make sure NEITHER of you got hurt, can you blame him? She's strange and she bit Leo when he tried to calm her down and the first thing she wanted to do was call someone Topside! Please don't be mad!"

"She's not strange, nya. She's my friend, nya" With that she closed her shell cell and slowly headed back towards the Lair.

"I just screwed up big time, didn't I?" Don said quietly, before pounding his head against the wall.

"Maybe he'll go easy on us...maybe we'll only have to clean the Dojo with a toothbrush?" Mikey said hopefully.

"Let's just go home and get it over with."

Yuri finally got home and gave a short stretch. She noticed Leo & Raph training, with Splinter looking on.

Yuri sighed. "Master Splinter-sama?" she asked, earning all attention in the room.

"Don't punish Don-kun, or Mikey-kun...it's not their fault I have the best ears in the family, nya."

With that much said, she jumped wall to wall until she was in her room.

A few minutes later, the two younger turtles entered the Lair again, timidly.

They were really dreading what they'd have to do for failing to remain hidden and alerting Yuri to their presence.

"Gotta remember to thank her," the two agreed and silently returned to their training.

---------------------------------------------------

Betty, meanwhile, was finding that whilst she craved sleep it wasn't forthcoming. She was hot, she was cold, she was bathed in sweat and the long, faded shirt she now wore to sleep in was sticking to her uncomfortably. She was thirsty too but couldn't seem to summon the energy needed to get out of bed and get a glass of water.

She didn't know what was wrong, but she hadn't felt this bad since before leaving the lab.

She just wanted to sleep...

"Help." she thought.

Nothing but silence was around the bat-girl, Silence and darkness.

Normally this wouldn't have bothered her; it was the sort of thing that she liked...but now...

Somehow she managed to fall out of bed and make her way to the hidden phone in the kitchen, gods only knew where she found the energy to call the one person she thought could help.

"Tonkei Toshiba." a voice answered, sounding sleepy.

"Tony...'s me...c'n...c'n yu...c'me see me...now?"

"Betty? Wha-? What's wrong? You sound awful!"

"I..." and she hated admitting this, hated taking up Tony's sleep time like this, "dunno w's wrong wi' me."

"Where are you now?"

"Home...Tony...'m…_scared_..."

"Hang on, I'll be with you in five minutes, stay where you are."

"'k-'kay." the suddenly cold air of her home was making her shiver.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N:** Yes, next chapter Tony will reappear. See ya then ;)


	7. Lots of Little Help from my Friends

A/N: Yay! Tony returns! hugs him Ah missed ya!

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A voice, slightly distant, but audible, woke one of the inhabitants of the Lair.

"...should've made a map..." it said, it sounded fairly young and male and possibly a little way away from the Lair, but it was hard to tell because of the echoes.

Yuri's ears perked up suddenly, and her eyes opened slowly. Voices?...Why would her brothers be up at this time of-?

Sniff...Sniff...

Yuri scrambled up and smelt the air. That was NOT a familiar smell to the cat. Nor was it welcome at this time.

The cat quickly jumped down from her pad, and landed silently on the floor.

..."I'll just scout, nya...No need to wake Leo-kun" she muttered to herself, slowly making her way towards the door. Once she peeked out, she saw a young Asian man, possibly in his mid-20's, dressed in blue jeans a chunky sweater and scruffy sneakers. He had a torch in one hand and was apparently trying to navigate his way somewhere.

He was talking to himself softly and headed on a little further.

Yuri followed him silently, surprised when he led her back to Betty's bunker and knocked on the door.

"Betty?" He called, "Bet...I'm here..." when he got no answer after a few seconds he went straight in.

A few moments later the catgirl heard him say:

"Betty, my god, you look awful!"

Yuri quickly went to the door and peeked in. Just WHAT did this guy want? If he hurt her new friend, he was gonna get it...

But the batgirl was clinging to him like a lifeline and she DID look awful. Her hair was matted and her shirt clung to her tiny frame, her face was flushed and her eyes were slightly glazed.

Yuri heard her say softly: "I dun...feel good..."

The man just picked her up as easily as if she were a small child and held her just as gently before putting her down on the threadbare sofa.

"Wait a moment, I'll get a cloth."

Yuri watched timidly. If only she had brought Leo... too late now though

Either way, she couldn't make her presence known until he did something unreasonable...

Soon enough, the man returned with a damp cloth and sat beside Betty, using a corner to wipe the sweat from her face and then pressing it to her forehead.

A little while later, when Betty seemed to be a little better and he asked her: "Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well when we spoke earlier, Betty?"

"'cos...'cos...I...don't wanna..."

"Don't want to...?"

"Worry you...an'...take up your time all th' time..."

With a mock-sigh 'he said "Come here, you daft Fruit Bat" and gently pulled her onto his lap.

Betty didn't fight, it seemed she was comfortable with this human, and she instantly cuddled on him as if he were a giant teddy bear.

Betty-chan...knows him, nya? The cat asked herself, slowly getting nearer to the door.

Yuri continued to watch them...until she kicked a rock into the water.

The man's head snapped up and towards the door..."Who's there?" he asked, not threatening...more worried.

Betty blinked...the scent was familiar..."Yuri?" she asked softly..."s'okies..."

Yuri pressed herself against the wall. "This is why Master Splinter-sama likes Leo-kun the best, nya," she muttered to herself.

"Bet..." the man said, "does someone else live down here?"

Betty was silent, just letting her head rest against his shoulder. Her eyes though...her eyes found Yuri's and she mouthed "It's ok, come in," at the cat-girl

Yuri sighed and did as told, although her claws were ready when doing so. Her sapphire eyes didn't leave Tony's for a millisecond.

It was obvious this cat didn't want to make her presence known.

He blinked, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of Yuri... "Another one..." he said softly, so as not to frighten the cat-girl. "Come in, sweetheart," he invited in a friendly non-threatening voice, "I won't hurt you...Veterinary Student's honour."

Yuri's ears went back, but the stern gaze in her eyes stayed. Making her way towards the other side of the room, she sat and continued to watch the two.

"...Tustie, nya?"

"You speak Japanese?" the man said in surprise, but answered her in the same language.

On his lap, comforted by being close to someone else, Betty had finally dozed off despite her fevered state.

Yuri gave off a slight untrusting purr/growl.

"Hai, nya. Maneki Neko, nya" she answered, letting her type be known up-front. "What to you want with my Tomodachi, nya?"

"I don't want anything...she called me..." the man said gently, shifting back a little, unnerved by the cat's attitude, "she's ill and she was scared so she called me...we're friends."

Betty, as if in confirmation, cuddled closer and sighed in contentment, "Tony," she chirruped dozily, having been woken slightly by the movement, "m' friend."

Yuri's ears perked slightly at the bat-girl's words. "You're Tony, nya?" she asked.

She noticeably relaxed, but still kept a distance from the newcomer. "But...you work with TGRI, nya..."

"Used to," Tony looked shamefaced, "I didn't know they were experimenting on animals when I took the lab assistant job there. I was there for less than 4 months...long enough to meet Betty and get her out."

Yuri relaxed fully now, but continued to keep her distance. "How pure of you, nya." she cooed slightly. "But TGRI has not been forgiven, nya." she said.

"I know that, and I know that I can't undo the damage they've done."

Yuri frowned. "Hai...but some 'damage' is important, Nya." she replied. "Maybe some of the 'damage' can-"...

"What would you have me do?" Tony cut across her, gently but firmly, "go to the police, take Betty with me and tell them "this girl is a fruit bat that TGRI mutated"?" then shook his head, "either they wouldn't believe me, or they'd take Betty away for tests...she wouldn't cope with that," his eyes went to Betty, who was half dozing again, and he stoked some of the hair out of her eyes gently, "it'd kill her."

Yuri stood up and made notice of her fangs slightly. "Iie! Don't jump to conclusions, Nya" she growled. "The so called 'damage' I was speaking of, is us, nya. Me and Betty-chan, nya."

The cat turned and crossed her arms. "TGRI will never be forgiven by me, nya. And the so called 'damage' that they make will be they're downfall, nya..."

"Ah, so you _are_ another one like Betty," Tony said calmly, "if I can ask...how did you meet her?"

Yuri looked puzzled by this question, but then headed towards the door, then looked back.

"We ran into each other, nya" she replied, leaping out.

"I see..." Tony watched her go then looked back down at Betty, and whispered, "I'm glad you've found a friend, Bets."

Yuri quickly hid herself on top of the ledge and continued to listen. Maybe this guy would be like April and Casey...

After awhile he shook her gently, "come on, Bets, you have to tell me what's wrong with you,"

"Mmh..." Betty blinked, "'m tired...m dizzy, can't move, too tired but get hot n cold, ache lots..."

The young human digested this for a second before the answer became obvious.

"Bet, you have the 'flu, it'll be alright in a few days. There's meds you can take..."

"No meds!"

"I know, I know, no meds, but they'd only make you feel better. The best thing you can do is sleep, stay warm and eat soup. I'll even bring you some."

Yuri's ears perked. The flu?...Wasn't there a shot for that? Maybe Don-kun would know how to treat it...

"Stay?" Betty asked hopefully and cuddled closer.

"Yeah, I'll stay with you Bets, I'll have to leave you for a few hours tomorrow morning, but I'll be back in the afternoon, OK?"

"Okies."

Looks like I have morning duty, nya. Yuri thought to herself, quickly and quietly racing back to the lair.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're in trouble, Kitten," Raph informed her when she arrived.

The whole family was awake and waiting for her, all looking as if they wanted explanations of where she'd been.

Yuri paused and stood still at the expressions on their faces. Obviously her cuteness wasn't gonna get her out of this one...

I KNEW I should've made sure that Leo-kun was asleep, nya. She thought to herself, noting that he was the only one not snoring when she left...

"Yuri," Master Splinter spoke up, his voice quietly respectful as usual, "what made you run off in the early hours of the morning without telling either your brothers or myself where you were going?"

_I'm not a Kitten anymore..._

Yuri sighed. "There was an intruder in the sewers, nya. I followed him, and he stopped at Betty-chan's, nya. I feel responsible for her, so I watched them to make sure she wouldn't get hurt, nya."

"An intruder?" Leo and Don said in unison. THAT was interesting.

"Is she alright? He didn't hurt her?" the blue clad turtle asked

"Iie, nya..." Yuri crossed her arms. "But I'm wary of him, nya. He used to work for TGRI labs...Experimental labs, nyou..." Yuri dug her claws into her arms as she thought of this.

"He may seem good, nya...but I don't trust him, nya"

"Perhaps we should keep an eye on Miss Betty," Splinter said thoughtfully.

"But," Mikey spoke up, "If he'd meant any harm...wouldn't he have done it by now? I mean, he knows where she lives and all."

"Why would he be looking for her at this time of night though?" Don pointed out.

It dawned on Yuri that she should mention that the bat girl really was sick...

Yuri's ears perked. "Oh! Don-kun! The guy mentioned that Betty-chan had the 'Flu', Nya. I thought there were treatments fer that, nya?"

"The flu?" Raph echoed. "You mean she's sick?"

The catgirl nodded.

"There are some treatments for 'flu, it's pretty simple..." Don conceded, "I can probably make one up for her," the purple clad turtle pondered. There were a few possibilities presented here, either he could make up a shot or an oral medicine…

"Don-kun?...Betty-chan won't touch medicine, Nya" Yuri pointed out, as though she knew what he was thinking.

Leo looked over to Don. "She's right. Betty did freak out just at the mention of it..."

Damn, that was right...she _had_ freaked out. Hadn't even let Raph give her tea because she'd thought it was some sort of medicine...hold on...

"How about we take her some food with the treatment mixed into it?" he suggested.

"Uh...hate to break it to ya, Donnie but...she eats bugs, hard to mix stuff into them...couldn't we just take her some pizza?"

"Hold on. Betty mentioned that she was a fruit bat, didn't she?" The blue-clad turtle asked. "What if we put the treatment in some fruit and give that to her?"

"Well don't bats have senses of smell?" Mikey asked.

"How much could she smell with the flu?" Raph pointed out, "'at usually involves a runny nose an' all that gross stuff"

"I'll work on it," the brainy turtle said, "though I think we're onto something with the giving her fruit idea."

"gee, and I thought Donatello was the only one with brains" Mikey teased, playfully punching Leo's shoulder.

Leo noogied his brother playfully in response, "we all get them from time to time, Mike."

Donatello retreated quietly to his lab to work on said treatment.

"As for the rest of us," the old rat said, standing up, "I believe we should finish sleeping or you will do badly at training in a few hours."

"That's nothing new, nya," Yuri muttered, heading off.

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A few hours later, when it was officially morning, Don suddenly appeared looking triumphant.

"I have it!" he cried, holding aloft a tiny vial of some clear coloured liquid.

"NYA!!!"

THUD!!!

Yuri shook her head and gave off a slight sneeze as she looked up from her fall. "What? A thicker shell than Raph-kun, nya? I agree, nya!"

"Sorry Yuri," the purple clad turtle sweat-dropped, "didn't mean to scare you, but I've got the treatment for Betty."

"Seriously, nya?!" The cat bounded up and looked closely at the semi-clear fluid. "How's it work, Nekonie, nya?

"Yeah, and how can I get a muffler for that big mouth of yers?" Raph asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Err, sorry Raph...but anyway, it's colourless and odourless so she won't notice if it's in the fruit we give her. It won't cure her completely, but it'll make the virus stand back and give her immune system time to...in effect, reboot and fight it off a bit more quickly."

"Nya. You're a genius, nya!" Yuri mewed, hugging her brother tightly.

"Thanks," Don grinned, "now, who's got some fruit?"

"I put the peaches and plums in my room so Mikey-kun wouldn't do anything to them, nya" The cat replied, giving off an annoyed look at the sleeping orange-clad turtle.

"Those'd work, could you get me one whilst I get a needle?"

"HAI, nya!" Yuri nodded and leapt towards her pad.

"Yer sure this is gonna work?" Raph asked dubiously

"What could go wrong? She won't be able to smell it or see it, so it should work" hoping he sounded more confident than he really felt.

Leo came in stretching, "and then you have to remember that Betty is very timid of us," he rubbed the band-aide on his arm that covered where the bat had bitten him, "It won't be that easy to get her to eat."

"Well, hopefully she'll take it if Yuri offers it to her, they seem to get along alright...if worst comes to worst we could probably get it into her drinking water or whatever it is she drinks."

He went and got a syringe and filled it with his flu treatment, waiting for Yuri to come back.

Yuri finally bounded down, holding a basket full of peaches and plums. Her ears were back, and she set the basket in front of Don.

"Are you sure we have to train today, nya?"

Don selected one plum and one peach, injecting half of his treatment into each "that should be enough."

"Ya think he'll let us off if we say we're takin' care of the bat?" Mikey asked hopefully.

Leo frowned at Mikey. "Master Splinter dose care about our new friend, but he makes us train for a reason."

"Yeah, ta prove that you're the best outta us." Raph snorted sarcastically.

"I just practice more!" Leo shot back, stung at the comment.

Before it could blow into a full-scale argument they were interrupted by their Sensei banging his stick on the ground.

"I understand that you are concerned," the old rat said evenly, "however, keeping in mind that Miss Betty is unwell, too many visitors may tire her too quickly. Therefore, only two of you may take her the treatment. Yuri," he pointed to the catgirl, "because she seems to trust you...and Donatello because it is your treatment and if anything goes wrong you will best know how to rectify the problem. You will make up your training time later in the day, understood?"

"Yes, Sensei," Don gave the rat a quick bow.

"Hai, Outusan, nya" Yuri whispered, also bowing. She looked down at the floor and shivered. In all reality...she hoped that Betty was alone this morning...Free from...Him...

"Well," the purple clad turtle said, picking up the treated fruit, "lead the way Yuri."

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As it turned out, Tony had already left for his morning class when they arrived at the old bunker the batgirl lived in.

Betty herself was curled up on her sofa, wrapped in a blanket and Tony's chunky sweater from last night, asleep.

Yuri slowly looked around and sniffed the air...clear.

The catgirl went in first, and kneeled by Betty's side, putting a hand on her forehead. "Donnie-kun? She's burning up, nya..."

Don knelt down beside Yuri and thought for a moment, then, blushing a bit, carefully pulled the blanket, covering the batgirl off. Fortunately (because this is a PG-13 fic, thank you) the shirt was old and stretched to cover anything 'indecent'

"Too many blankets," he explained.

Betty shivered and frowned a little as her body started to cool down and wrapped herself further in Tony's sweater.

Yuri breathed in slightly. She looked around warily; making sure that the place was empty. "What should we do, nya?"

"Either wake her up or..." he stopped because Betty's teeth had started to chatter a little, which in turn made her stir "Wait for her to wake up."

After a few minutes, Betty sat up and blindly reached for her blanket.

Yuri watched the batgirl and unconsciously began to purr softly. She held out a hand and made contact with Betty's. "Ohayo tomodachi, nya" she whispered.

Betty started, almost jumping out of her skin at the unexpected touch...then the purring and the voice registered and she relaxed a little and slowly opened her eyes.

"'lo Yuri," she said groggily, she looked a little better than she had a few hours ago.

Yuri purred a bit softer, but still with a relaxed, welcoming way. "I brought a present for you, nya. Are you hungry, nya?"

"Pr'sent?" Betty blinked again, as if keeping her eyes open was an effort. She thought about whether she was hungry...and shrugged, "Guess," she said with another small shrug.

Yuri's tail swished in happiness, before she carefully took a plum from her basket, and handed it to Betty. "I hope you like, nya"

The bat sniffed it gently, out of habit, then took a small bite...it was in her mouth for less than a second before she spat it out, dropped the rest of the plum as if it were red hot.

"No meds," she said with a firm shake of her head, "no more, not ever."

Don stared, how, exactly, had she been able to tell?

Unless... it wasn't tasteless. He could've kicked himself

Yuri's ears suddenly dropped. Now she was in for it big time. "Betty-chan I don't wa-"

"No more meds, pleasies," Betty whimpered, "no more...hadda 'nuff in the lab...jus' stop...pleasies!"

Yuri gave off a whimper, before shooting Don a dark glare. "I told you, nyuo" she hissed softly.

Yuri finally got up and put her back against the wall, with her arms crossed.

"Hey, I didn't know she'd take it this badly," the purple clad turtle sighed and decided to go for it.

"Betty," he said softly, kneeling beside her, "It's not to hurt you, it's just to help, to make you feel better. Please just take it."

"No!" Betty exposed her fangs in warning, "I'll _BITE_ you if you make me!"

"If you don't take it, you might get worse," he explained patiently.

Yuri looked up from where she leaned. What could possibly happen?

Betty just growled at him, "'m not stupid. It's 'flu, s'gone after a week. I don't wanna take any more meds," she let her head fall forward, "why's there gotta be so many meds?"

Yuri moaned and gently made her way back to the girl, putting her hand on Betty's in the process. "There are such a thing as good meds, and bad meds, nya...Just like there are good people and bad people, nya." the cat cooed.

The cat gently squeezed the bat's hand. "I promise you, nya, I will never ever let those people get to you again, nya. But please, Betty-chan...This will be the only time I request something like this, Nya."

"Hard to tell...'m just sick of them all,"

Don tilted his head; this was like seeing a whole new form of abuse. The batgirl remembered how badly she'd been treated in the lab, and that scared her and made her mistrust any medicine, even if she was ill.

Eventually, after much thought, Betty nodded and whispered, "okies."

A wave of hope gripped the cat-girl, as she slowly handed Betty a peach. "Just one...I promise, nya." she whispered.

Betty took it, but refused to look at either Yuri or Don, she took one bite; which she chewed and swallowed, then put it down.

"Okies."

"Uh, What she meant was you only have to eat one peach...the whole thing." Don started, earning a kick from his sister.

Yuri looked disbelieving. This was insane...

Betty blinked and focused on Don, "Look," she said, "I get that this is for m' health, but pleasies remember 'm a lab animal an' realistically being around meds m'kes me nervous n' I hafta to build up to it."

Then she stuck her tongue out at him before she took another bite of the fruit.

This made Yuri get up and leave the bunker without anyone noticing.

Don sighed. "Look Betty, we really care about you. I understand it's going to take some time for you to realize that but-"

"But what? But you're not makin' me eat this? But you're not tryin' to find how ta ask me 'bout the scars n marks all over me?"

Don sighed heavily. "Betty, look. The only reason I'm making you eat that is so you'll get better. Second, I'm just curious, but they just stick out and say hello to the world!" Don paused and calmed down. "Betty, look. We both just want you safe."

"Yeah...safe..." Betty hugged her knees, "thought I was safe here...an' the scarring..." she pointed to the one on her face "missin' some muscle here 'cos they took it to biopsy after I changed...mosta the needle marks are from med trials, the resta th' scars are from bein' vivisectioned and dipped in paint...an' this one…"

She suddenly tugged her shirt up to show that the largest scar was on her stomach...someone had once cut her open.

"Okies?" she said gently, lowering her shirt again and yawning. "'m sorry if m' bein' nasty but 'm tired...n sick...n…what's th' word? When you feel like someone walked over you lotsa times?"

Don grimaced slightly, then put a hand over Betty's. "I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"s'okies," she said quietly, "m gettin better th' longer 'm 'way from th' lab..."

Suddenly Don found himself with Betty hugging around his neck.

"Stay? m' tired n Tony's gonna be gone for awhile yet n...need someone t' cuddle with."

Don blushed slightly, before he wrapped one of his strong arms around the batgirl and smiled softly. "You'll be ok Betty." he soothed.

Betty chirruped a little then, oddly, made her own sort of purring noise. It was, for want of a better word, it was _cute_.

The batgirl just closed her eyes and cuddled close.

Don softly smiled at the girl and sighed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all...


	8. Nap, Interrupted

_**Author's Note:**__ I think probably my favourite chapter so far, if only for Mikey's paranoid delusions XD_

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A little later, Yuri sat outside, messing with her shell cell. It had been so quiet in there since she left, so she figured maybe Don would have it under control. Yuri's ears perked at the sound of water softly splashing. It wasn't noon already, was it?

"Yuri? Don?" Leo's unmistakable voice called out, "are you guys around here?"

"C'mon guys," Mikey's voice chimed in, "Splinter's been wondering where you are!"

Yuri's ears perked...before she jumped into the shadows and sat as still as she could be.

"Man. I though Donnie and Kitten were just gonna give 'er some breakfast and be back" Raph's voice said sarcastically. "We never agreed for them ta end up spendin' two HOURS here..."

"Hey, maybe she, like, died or something," Mikey said in suddenly scared voice, "and now they're trying to find somewhere to hide the body!"

"Mikey, if she was dead, they would have called us to help them" Leo informed him

"I'm not touching a dead body!"

"Mikey, shut it!" Raph scolded as they turned the corner. Raph looked around, "K, so where are they?"

"They're criminals!"

_PUNCH!!!_

Raph muttered something about duct tape as he left Mikey to hold his head.

"Well, we found her around here last time, but the right was a dead end so...logically, they must have gone to the left."

The sound of splashing water got nearer as the three brothers' approached

Yuri sniffed the air, but still remained in the shadows. After all that? She wasn't going to go back right now...

Raph paused as he spotted the bunker. "Hey, maybe that's it." he pointed out.

"But Raph! What if there's a dead body in there?!" Mikey squeaked

"Then Donnie and Kitten are in there too, bonehead."

"Let's just go in, it might be empty." carefully, Leo opened the door…and stopped.

Raph peered over his shoulder...and snickered. "Well, check it out, the family genius finally found a girlfriend!"

Don woke up with a start to find his brothers staring at him. Raph and Mikey were snickering, and Leo looked almost bemused.

Betty just sighed, made a soft sound and shifted to more comfortable position on Don's plastron, the front of which she was mostly sprawled over, and ended up with the top of her head tucked under the turtle's chin.

Don chuckled sheepishly, "Hey guys."

"Care to explain?" Leo asked...he was trying not to laugh too. (Teenage boys rolls eyes)

"I think...it's a bat thing." Don answered, blushing furiously now.

"Oooooh, suuuurrrre, it's a BAT thing" Mikey snickered. "Donnie and Betty sittin' in a treee!"

Raph leaned against the wall, still smirking, "Oh please, Don. Don't let US disturb ya."

"Come on guys," Leo appealed, "go easy on him."

"Yeah, alright, it's pretty cool that Donnie found a girl...even if he did hafta to drug her first." the tough turtle joked.

"Our little Donnie's all grown up!" Mikey added, mock tearfully.

Don blushed heavily again. "Aw c'mon, guys! Betty just wanted Yuri and me to stay until some guy named 'Tony' arrived." The smart turtle paused. "What time is it?"

The leader turtle checked the time on his shell cell. "11.30" he said then something dawned on him "And where is Yuri?"

Don stayed silent for a moment before looking around. "Wha-?" The smart turtle looked around. "You mean she's not with you?"

"Listen to yourself, Donnie...She likes Betty, remember?" Mikey asked. "So naturally cats play with their food...or...somthin' like that?"

"By...leaving her sleeping on someone and vanishing? That doesn't seem like 'playing with her food', Mike" He sat up a little, slightly dislodging Betty, who simply cuddled back, undeterred even in sleep.

"Aww, she likes ya," Raph joked lightly, peering out of the door into the sewer.

Don blushed again. "Either way, we should be getting back 'cause Yuri said something about Betty getting a visitor around noon"

"Then by all means, Romeo" Mikey grinned.

Carefully the brainy turtle moved the batgirl off his front and onto the sofa, this turned out to be slightly more difficult than he'd hoped because Betty had a pretty good grip, but he managed to pry her off without waking her, and then dropped her blanket back over her.

"Let's just go."

Mikey snickered as he did this. "Aw, dont'cha wanna kiss 'er goodbye?"

"That's enough, Mikey. Let's go," Raph said, stepping out.

"Think we should find Yuri before we head back?" Leo asked, closing the bunker door behind them.

"She's the one always sayin' she's not a kitten anymore," Raph pointed out, "She'll turn up when she's ready."

Their footsteps and chatter gradually died away, though unnoticed, Don cast one glance back at the bunker before they rounded the corner.

Yuri slowly peeked out as they left, then gave a short glance back to Betty's bunker.

Gomenusai, nya...

With that much done, she slowly and quietly followed her departing brothers, before letting of a soft "Nyou"

"Slow down guys, I'm coming..." she muttered more to herself than anyone.

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Half an hour later, Tony arrived once more, though this time he had two bags with him, one had two of Betty's favourite meals in it (crickets in lemon and sesame with rice, and mealworms in spicy plum sauce)

The other held a new rainbow coloured sweater...well, new from the Salvation Army store anyway. The point was, it was thick and would keep Betty warm.

He smiled at the sight she made on the sofa and gently touched her forehead, pleased to find it a little cooler than before.

"Hey Bets," he said gently, kneeling down, "I'm back."

The batgirl stirred, blinked and smiled "Tony."

"Yeah, you feeling better?" If Yuri had seen this is would have nullified any remaining wariness she felt for the young man.

"Little."

"I'm glad." and without preamble sat down beside her. Betty instantly cuddled on him. Though she found, whilst this was nice it wasn't the same as it had been earlier when she was cuddled on the turtle's front.

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Back at the Lair Yuri tucked her tail in, as she got ready to fight Leo. All she could think about was the look Betty had given her when she tasted that medicine. It was so...broken...betrayed. And yet, still...

Yuri looked to the side. What in the sam-hill was going on?

"Admit iiiiiiiit!" Mikey was taunting Don on the sidelines, "You liiiiiiiike heeeeer!"

"Mikey, shut up! She was sick and scared! That's it!"

"It that's it then why were you bluuuuushing?"

"Yeah, C'mon' Donnie!" Raph grinned. "Ya like 'er!"

Yuri looked over to them slightly, losing all interest in Leo.

"ENOUGH!" the taunting was interrupted by Splinter's shout, accompanied by a few bangs of his walking stick on the ground. "Whether or not your brother has taken a liking to the girl is irrelevant in the Dojo."

Raph and Mikey looked to each other and back to Splinter.

"Yeah well-"

"It's jus-"

Silence reigned for a short while, then…

"Yes Master Splinter" came the unison.

Yuri's ears went back slightly, and she turned back to Leo with a rare glare.

Leo held up his hands in a gesture of innocence, he hadn't been taunting Don after all.

"Just start already, nya" Yuri muttered

Leo faced her once more and they bowed at each other...Then there was a loud THUD! which caused everyone to turn. Mikey was sitting rubbing his head, having just been thwacked by Raph.

"Sorry Sensei," the red clad turtle said, "but he started layin' inta Donnie again."

The old rat sighed, this was going to be one of those days; he could feel it in his bones.

Yuri's eye twitched. "Baka Nekonie" she muttered under her breath.

Eventually, after longer than it should have taken, Splinter declared that training was done for the day.

Mikey immediately headed for his pile of video games.

Raph went for his punching bag, while Donnie headed for the computer.

Yuri stood in the middle of the lair, watching the chaos... She wondered how Betty was doing now

Yuri finally sighed and headed out, pushing Raph out of her way as she did so. "You'll get it soon, baka." she muttered, heading for the door.

She didn't really know where she was headed until she found herself back at Betty's door.

Yuri gasped slightly before sighing and leaning against the door. "Betty-chan?...Domo Betty-chan?"

There was no reply so she pushed the door open slightly; just to make sure the batgirl was alright

Yuri slowly looked around and smelt the air. "Betty-chan?...I'm really sorry for this morning, nya. I wanted you to get better, nya..."

A small sound came from above her. Very slowly Yuri looked up...and came face to face with Betty, who was hanging by her knees from the bar in the ceiling.

Yuri squeaked softly in surprise, before she calmed slightly. "Betty-chan?"

The batgirl blinked, and tilted her head to the side with a small chirrup. "Yes?" she answered pleasantly, looking a lot better than earlier. She was also wearing a rainbow-striped sweater that Yuri hadn't seen her with that morning.

Yuri's ears went back slightly. "Oh...Konichi'wa, nya...Glad you're better, nya...huh?" Yuri tilted her head slightly. "Where'd you get the mewin' sweater, nya?"

The batgirl gave her a fangy, upside down grin and said: "Tony bought it for me...pretty yes?" she smiled and held out her arms out to show it off, "t' keep me warm an' help me get better quicker."

Yuri's ears stayed down. "Hai...it's very pretty, nya. It makes your eyes dance, nya..."

"You okies, Yuri?" Betty asked, noting the flattened ears.

"H-hai!...I'm fine, nya...I've come to check on you, nya" the catgirl said quickly. She turned and studied the place. "Are you sure Tony-san took good care of you, nya?"

"Always," came the reply with a firm nod, "Tony got me outta th' lab, an' he used to gimme good food when I lived inna cage, always."

Yuri nodded. "Okay, nya...He has my trust...sort of, nya" she mewed. She looked away slightly. "Uhm...how'd Donnie-kun treat you, nya?"

"Okies," the bat replied, "he lemme sleep on him. Was nice. Why?"

"Making sure my friend is happy, nya." Yuri answered. "And...And my brothers, nya"

"They sad? Why?" Betty's big brown eyes went sympathetic, "something wrong? They sick?"

Yuri looked down. "Iie...no...They're not." she cooed, "but I wish Raph-kun was..."

The cat looked back up and gave her a sad smile. "Don-kun thinks you're a great friend, nya"

The batgirl suddenly jumped down from her bar in one swift move to stand beside Yuri.

"You wanna sit?" she asked, nodding towards the sofa where her blanket was still located, "can tell me what's wrong."

Yuri jumped slightly, startled, but then nodded. "Fine, nya. I trust you, nya"

First Betty went to her fridge and took out two small bottles of juice (another thing Tony had brought her along with the sweater) and handed one to Yuri as she sat down.

Yuri looked at the label - mixed fruit juice, it figured. With a small breath, Yuri tasted the juice...and forced it down. It wasn't milk, but it would do.

"Hey Betty-chan?...Did you ever feel alone, nya...Even though you weren't alone, nya?"

"I'm always alone," the bat pointed out softly, "but go on."

Yuri paused and sighed. "Gomenusai...never mind...Do you-...Do you wanna have dinner with us again, nya?"

Betty thought about it for a little while, sipping her bottle of juice slowly, until, eventually...

"Okies...but Mikey gotta keep his m'uth shut 'bout what I eat."

Yuri quickly hugged the batgirl tightly. "Arigato, nya!" she purred, gently letting the bat go. "Now I won't be so lonely I hope, nya," the cat's ears perked up. "Oh, and if Mikey-kun says anything, I'll slap duct tape on ALL of their mouths except Donnie-kun's, k?"

"You're lonely with only your brothers, yes?" the bat said insightfully, but gave Yuri a quick hug back, and giggled slightly at the thought of duct taping the turtle boys mouths shut.

Yuri paused. "Don't tell them this...But..." She turned to Betty. "I want my real brothers back..."

With that much said, she looked out the door and made sure the cost was clear.

This left the batgirl feeling a little confused.

Yuri's real brothers?

OK, she wasn't stupid; she knew that realistically a cat couldn't be related to four turtles.

But...who were her real brothers? That puzzled Betty quite a bit.

"Okies..." she said, "won't tell 'em."

Yuri jumped out and sniffed the air of the sewer. She turned to make sure Betty was following, and began to walk.

After a few blocks the smell of the lair was close...too close...

Yuri moaned and looked up. "RAPH-KUN!! DONNIE-KUN!!! Get down here you shellshockers, nya!"

Two extremely shame-faced turtles dropped to the floor.

Betty chirruped questioningly at them.

Yuri crossed her arms at them. "And the excuse for Raph-kun is?"

"We wondered where ya'd got to, Kitten" Raph explained, "it's almost dinner time ya know."

Don looked at Betty in surprise, having just noticed her new sweater.

"Hey Betty, where'd you get the sweater? It's cute" Don commented.

"Tony bought it for me from th' Salvo's."

Yuri's attention was pulled towards Betty and Don.

"Oh, your caretaker? That's good, Betty" The purple clad turtle smiled.

Yuri frowned slightly. "Sometime today, Tech-turtle, nya"

"Huh? Oh right, yeah, come on, let's go." Don turned and started to lead the way back to the Lair.

"Smooth, Romeo," Raph whispered to him, "Ya really got her swooning."

"Shut up!" his brother hissed back, blushing a little.

Suddenly Yuri grabbed the back of Raph's mask strings and pulled him down to ear-level.

"Listen" she softly hissed. "I know ya hate me, but don't take it out on my new friend, nya. She's shy, and very nice, nya. So if ANYONE makes her uncomfortable during her stay, nya, I'm NOT gonna be happy, nya"

Raph's eyes widened...How could she think...?

"I don't hate ya, Kitten," he said gently (thankfully Don and Betty had walked a little way ahead so couldn't hear this)

"Do you PROMISE no-one will disturb Betty-chan?" the cat murmured.

"Yeah, sure...no problem...couldja let go now, please Kitten?"

Damn, when Yuri got protective, she got PROTECTIVE

Yuri gently let go of him, before slowly following Donnie and Betty.

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_**A/N:**__ See? Toldja this one was my favourite. I feel kind of bad for having them tease Don that way though._


	9. Foot in Mouth Syndrome

_**A/N:**__ Mikey, Mikey, Mikey, you gotta learn to be aware of when you're making the guest with good hearing uncomfortable._

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Mikey was the first to notice their return. "Hey the bat came back!"

"And this time I want your blood." Betty deadpanned.

Yuri's ears perked slightly, before she giggled at Mikey's expression.

"I'm jokin'," the batgirl giggled slightly "I dun drink blood."

"Oh, whew!" Mikey wiped some non-existent sweat off his brow "had me worried there."

Splinter rose from his tea and walked over, "Betty-chan," Splinter said, "it is good to see you once more...are you in good health?"

"Better than earlier, thankies," she answered politely.

Yuri smiled at the batgirl as she explained her status to the rat.

Mikey got up and grinned. "So...did lady-purrs-alot invite you fer dinner again?"

Betty simply nodded in response.

Mikey looked towards Don and started to cock an eye ridge...before getting pounced on by Yuri for a lecture.

Raph grimaced, knowing what Mikey was fixing to get. "Hey, Betty. Why don't you make yourself comfortable, and we'll set every thin' up?"

"Okies..." Betty headed over to the couch and sat down, on the screen in front of her was a paused game...and a controller beside her.

Couldn't hurt right?

Once again something inside her mind went "click" very gently and the game started to make sense.

Don watched as the bat once again whizzed through Mikey's video game. Shell...she's a natural!

Eventually, the score counter ran out of numbers and the game ran out of levels and she'd taken her place at 1st in the scores, she put the controller back down and gave a small snort.

"Boring" she muttered gently.

"OH! uh, no worries...uh...here try this one." Don said, handing her another game.

Betty blinked, but took the game cartridge with a small smile and a soft "Thankies Donn-ee," and inserted it into the game system.

This looked a little more promising...but all too soon she'd raced through it and beaten everyone's top score.

A line from The Who song "pinball wizard" went through the brainy turtle's mind as he watched her play_: "stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine, Feeling all the bumpers, Always playing clean, plays by intuition, the digit counters fall..."_

"Hey, come on guys!" Leo called, "Dinner's ready."

Don looked up from watching. "We'll be right there!" he called back. "Hey Betty, ya ready to eat? I'm sure tonight will be better than last night."

The bat finished typing her name into the Top Score space then nodded, put the controller down and switched off the video game system.

"Yes," she said with a small nod and followed him to the table, where Don smiled and automatically pulled a chair for her.

Mikey started snickering...followed by a loud SLAP from his sister.

Betty tilted her head, "You never heard of chivalry, Mikey?" she asked innocently, "That's when you're nice to a girl whose come to visit, y'know?"

"Ouch! BURN!" Raph snorted.

Don started to snicker at Mikey's now embarrassed look, before a foot gently tapped his and said, "Manners..."

"Eh...sorry," the purple clad turtle said instantly.

Betty, meanwhile, was staring hard at the flat, square box in the middle of the table...She didn't really know what Pizza was, having only seen empty boxes with some crusts leftover before now.

"What's 'pizza'?" she whispered to Yuri, who was on her other side.

Yuri's eyes lit up like stars at the mention. "It's one of the greatest foods in the world, nya." She whispered back. "It's a mixture of foods, like bread, tomato, cheese, and other good stuff, nya," she giggled. "I made sure we weren't having anchovies for your sake, nya"

"Oh," the batgirl said, though there was doubt in her voice, but she dutifully accepted a slice with pineapple.

She let it lie on her plate for a bit and gently prodded it, not knowing what to make of it...there was fruit on it but it wasn't exactly fresh fruit and mealworms, she didn't know what the yellow stuff all over it was, so she carefully removed it and just ate the base with the tomato tasting stuff and the pineapples.

Yuri watched her hopefully. Maybe she'd like it almost as much as everyone else in the sewer did.

Betty ate slowly, (compared to the four turtles who wolfed the stuff as if they hadn't eaten for months on end) taking her time, she wasn't sure if she liked it but she didn't hate it either.

Gently she licked some stray sauce off her fingertips with her tongue.

Out of the corner of his eye, Don noticed that her tongue was a little thinner and seemed slightly longer than a human tongue...he really needed to do some research on Fruit Bats he decided.

Yuri watched as Betty ate, reaching over towards Mikey's plate, grabbing a slice of his.

"Hey! Get 'cher own, kitty!"

"I can't, Shell-head" She muttered, still watching Betty.

When she was finished, Betty neatly rested her hands on her lap; she didn't go for another slice of Pizza as she'd decided it was OK, but not great.

"That bad, huh?" Mikey asked, taking his pizza back.

"I have some nectarines, if you want, nya" Yuri cooed to the bat.

"Thankies Yuri," Betty answered politely, that sounded better than pizza.

Yuri smiled, and looked over towards Splinter questionably. When he nodded, she quickly scampered for the kitchen, towards the fruit.

Mikey looked over to Leo. "Is it just me? Or is the red carpet being drawn?" he whispered.

Betty's ear twitched slightly and she looked around carefully, she didn't see any red carpet. What were they talking about?

Yuri quickly returned with the said fruit, plus a few plums and neatly set them on Betty's plate. "There you go, nya." she cooed, leaving the room once more.

Mikey once again cocked a ridge at Don, then looked pointedely towards Betty as if to say 'see? Special treatment!'

Knowing now that she was the centre of attention made the batgirl feel uncomfortable and she instantly bowed her head and made herself seem small, as if hoping the ground would open up and swallow her.

After a few seconds she couldn't take it anymore, pushed her chair away and said in gentle, faltering voice: "I'm...gonna...go now…th-thankies for havin' me...tell Yuri I said b'byes," and she all but bolted away from the table and was out the Lair's main entrance before anyone could blink.

"The shell-?" Leo asked, raising an eye ridge.

Mikey shot up. "Hey! what's wrong?" He wasn't heard. "Ah shell now what'll we do?"

"If you weren't being such a Shell-head, Maybe she would've stayed!" Don snapped.

"What? What did I do?" the joker turtle asked, clearly clueless.

Splinter slowly put down his tea, "It would seem, Michelangelo, that Miss Betty knew she was being talked about and this is what made her leave in such a hurry."

"What are you talking about?" Mikey asked, holding his hands up.

"Maybe If you'd learn some tact we'd all get along" the smart turtle snapped again.

"But-...I wasn't-"

"...Where's Betty-chan, nya?"

All five, the turtles and the rat turned to look at Yuri.

She looked...a combination of surprised, angry and sad.

"She had to go..." Leo said, hoping Yuri wouldn't get even more upset than she already was.

The cat's ears went back and she looked away. "Oh...ok." she muttered. "I'm uh...I'm not really hungry, so...you guys can have mine."

With that said, the cat clenched her hands and walked towards her pad.

After a minute, all eyes were on Michelangelo.

Mikey shrunk down slightly.

"Guess...I...should find Betty and apologise?"

"Then apologise to your sister for scaring away her guest," Splinter added.

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Betty, meanwhile, was headed back to her bunker, not crying but feeling almost as unhappy as she had been in the cage at the lab.

SMACK!

She connected with another creature...she blinked, then screeched in fright.

"Calm down!" the newcomer cried, covering his non-existent ears, "I mean you no harm...Just…what on earth are you _doing_ down here, dear girl?"

"L-live...d-down here..." Betty answered, pressing herself up against a wall. Her vision, always better in the dark showed her that the new person was...another reptile, like Yuri's brothers but BIGGER. Calm down? Yeah, right! This guy looked like he could snap her neck like a twig if he wanted to!

The reptile tilted his head at her, studying her through the small slits in his eyes. They softened slightly, and his tail slowly moved around the hard surface.

"You...do not smell like a human," he told her, trying not to scare her further, "What are you?"

"I'm a fruit bat..."

"I see...another mutant, tell me, young bat, where are you going like, excuse the expression, like a bat out of hell?"

"Home...and...away from..." she stopped, unable to express the feeling of…discomfort inside her.

Leatherhead looked at the way she had come...she knew the turtles then and...one of them must have upset her.

"Come with me," he said, putting a scaled hand on her shoulder, gently, "I believe I should have word with four of our young friends."

Betty's eyes widened...HE KNEW THE TURTLES AND YURI! Since the...reptile (she had no word for "alligator") was stronger than she was, she had no option than to follow, but he wasn't mean about it just firm.

When the two of them arrived back at the Lair, Betty found herself almost knocked down by Mikey.

"EEEK!!!" Mikey jumped slightly before holding his chest slightly. "Give a guys a break, before pouncin' on 'em!" he said, looking up at Leatherhead.

He looked back at Betty and shuffled a bit. "Hey-uh, Betty? I'm really sorry for talkin' like that. It wasn't seriously intentional or, meant to be- uh?...Sorry" he said.

Betty simply slid behind her new companion, hiding, and mumbled something along the lines of _"not meaning to make anyone treat her special"_

"Michelangelo," the larger reptile said, "what exactly did you say to upset her?"

Mikey gave off a shy / innocent smile. "I really didn't mean... "

"Makin' comments 'bout Yuri treatin' me special...made me feel..." the bat paused, realising that she didn't know the right word for it.

Mikey quickly held his hands up. "That's because she never ever treats anyone this good, not even any of our other friends." His defence dropped, and he lowered his head slightly. "I'm really sorry if I gave off the wrong impression..."

Betty gave him a wary look and took a small step back, she wasn't sure how to react to this...sometimes it'd been simpler when she'd been in the cage, at least then the people had been _deliberately_ cruel to her.

"I believe he is sincere," Leatherhead told her.

The bat gave Mikey a sorrowfully questioning look, if such things were possible, as if searching his soul to check that he was sorry.

Mikey watched her, beginning to worry. Sometimes even he wished that he had a better sense of right and wrong...

Eventually the batgirl nodded and said "okies" quietly, then "wheres Y'ri?"

"Uh...in her room I'll getcha the ladder, only Yuri can..." he trailed off as Betty easily scaled the wall up to Yuri's pad and slowly went inside.

An interesting addition to the sewers, do you now agree?" the alligator chuckled.

"Yeah...whatever...wow..." how did she climb THAT, that quickly? he wondered.

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**Author's Note:** I like Leatherhead and his vaguely Cajun accent. However this is his one appearance with a big speaking part

**LH:** What? Why?

**WWW:** sorry love, you're just difficult to write for so…uh, why are your eyes doing tha-? _(the author bolts very quickly for fear of angry croc!)_


	10. Shared Horrors

_**Author's Note:**__ I've nothing clever to say this time. ;_

_Don: Oh! Let me!_

_WWW: No! Get back in the fic! (pushes!)_

_**Disclaimer:**__ TMNT are the toys of Mirage Studio's, I'm just borrowing them and I will return them as soon as I'm done._

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"Yuri?" Betty chirruped questioningly.

The said cat didn't move from her curled up position.

"Min fadlik, Yuri," Betty said voice radiating sincerity, "ana asif," it was surprising, but the batgirl's speech was much clearer in Arabic, portraying how she felt better than she could in English. ("please Yuri, I'm sorry")

The cat's ears quickly perked up, and she scrambled around to come face to face with her friend.

Yuri's eyes turned from surprised, to apologetic. "Hai…Dozo…Gomenusai, nya," she replied, intent on letting Betty know that her apology was accepted, and now she was returning it

Betty switched to English, "Your brother's scared me a little...made me feel as if I was fussy...did tell them to say I said b'byes."

Yuri blinked slightly. "Leo-kun told me that you had to leave, nya..." Her ears went back. "Who made you feel chibi, nya?"

"...chibi?" the bat tilted her head, clearly not knowing what the word meant, "but...Mikey said you were treatin' me special an' you don't do that for anyone else n...made me feel bad...he said sorries."

Yuri took this all in, before her ears went back once again. "...I...I just don't feel...so alone...with you, nya. I like you, because you're like me, nya. You're nice, and pretty, and pure, nya." She looked down. "If I'm treating you special...Gomenusai, nya...I just wanted you to be my tomodatchi, nya"

"Answer a question for me?" the batgirl said, "what's 'tomodatchi' mean?"

Yuri blinked, then smiled. "Friend, nya" She looked down and blushed. "Can we be friends, nya?"

"Mm," Betty made the noise with a firm nod, "inti Sadeeqaty!" and she hugged the catgirl. ("You're my friend")

Yuri's ears perked up at the tone in Betty's voice, and her spirits rose as the batgirl hugged her. Yuri swiftly hugged her back happily, making a strong purring noise as she did so.

"Betty? Yuri? Are you both ok up there?" Don's voice came.

Yuri's ears quickly returned to against her head.

"We okies," Betty called, and chirruped loudly, then covered her mouth, looking like a teenage girl who's just blurted out something in front of a crush.

Yuri's eyes went wide...before she snorted and began to giggle softly.

Betty blushed a little, looked down and muttered something that sounded like "stupid annoying instincts!"

"Iie, Iie" the catgirl cooed. "You mean 'annoying Brothers', nya" she giggled

The batgirl shook her head vigorously, "instincts...[low crackling noise...th' chirrupin'...is...how bats call potential mates...an...it's September and...I'm 2 whole years old n I have no mate an...[slightly louder crackling noise!" she bumped her head against the wall repeatedly.

Yuri stared at her friend for a while...before purring slightly. "Cute, nya" She cooed. "It's almost like a song, nya."

"I dunno what to do!" Betty groaned, "it's stupid."

Yuri looked sympathetic. "Maybe a little music would help, nya...nya?" She slowly poked her head out of her room...

...To find all of her brothers and Leatherhead looking up expectantly

Yuri's eye twitched...

"NANI, KAMA ME BAKA-SUKIE!!!" she hissed...then added sweetly. "Leatherhead-san may stay as long as he wishes though, nya"

Betty decided that hitting her head against the wall was a very good past time, until her head started to ache a little and she found somewhere to hang from the ceiling instead.

Yuri doubletook at her friend and bit her lip. "Betty-chan? Dozo...Try to calm down, nya"

"I'm okies now," the bat said, calmly swinging herself back and forth with her knees, where she'd found some sort of bar in the ceiling. Hanging upside down is a natural state for bats, so it was no wonder it helped her calm herself.

Yuri tilted her head slightly, and then smiled warmly.

"Oh, did you want those nectarines? I'm the only one allowed to take food in my room." The cat offered.

"Okies, thankies," Betty chirruped in a different tone to the one she'd unwittingly emitted earlier, this sounded more like a friendly exchange, and she continued to swing gently.

The cat mock-saluted, and took the three story drop into the larger part of the room. Face kept down to avoid eye contact with anyone, she quickly raced for the kitchen.

"And...what the shell were those two talking about?" Mikey, as usual, was the one to break the silence.

Don looked over, frowning. "They probably both apologised to each other." he replied. "Something you still need to work on."

Leo crossed his arms, facing the kitchen. "Mikey, did you mean what you said to Betty?" He asked calmly.

"About being sorry for upsetting her? Yeah...and c'mon guys, y'know it's true, Yuri's never that nice to anyone, not even April or Casey."

"

She's nice to everyone. What are you talking about, Mikey?" the blue clad turtle asked.

"Betty wasn't keen on the pizza, Yuri went to get her some fruit...honestly, you guys ever seen her do that for anyone else?"

This got silence from the three turtles and the alligator until Don said: "I think it might be...because she and Betty are similar."

"But Kitten wasn't stuck in a lab when she was a kitten...was she?" Raph asked, raising an eye ridge. "Betty keeps complainin' about meds, and labs..."

"Yeah, and Betty is certainly a lot more...well...Human" Leo said.

"Still," the purple clad turtle continued, "they've something in common, unlike us, they were both intentional. OK, maybe not to the extent that whoever did this thought they'd become human, but someone DID hurt them with the ooze intentionally...or maybe she's just pleased to have another female mutant down here." he added as an afterthought.

"For the record..."

All five spun around to a pair of glaring sapphire eyes.

"...My ears work fine, nya"

All four turtles and Leatherhead did a sweat drop.

"Sorry." they chorused together.

Yuri frowned at them and turned away, quickly kicking the walls, jumping quickly into her pad.

She gave on last look towards a certain turtle before disappearing with the fruit.

Betty chirruped at her in a comforting way when she came back, sensing that her friend was cross or sad about something.

"Okies?" she asked after a few moments.

"Hai, nya" Yuri cooed, handing the bat the fruit. "My Brothers are just...different...then what they used to be, nya." The cat looked up smiling. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one here with brains, nya!"

The bat took the fruit and snickered a little. "Tony says that boys' are jerks when they're teens...gets better," and then she opened her mouth and took a big bite out of the nectarine, how she didn't choke from swallowing upside down, only she knew.

Yuri smiled at her friend. "At least Leatherhead-san, and Leo-kun are being nice, nya" she cooed. She thought about this for a while. "Don-kun is ok...I just wish he would stop acting like I can't hear a word he's saying, nya"

"And Mikey got the BIG mouth," Betty giggled, lowering her food to lick some stray juice from around her mouth, then she looked serious, "'m sure Donn-ee doesn't do it on purpose," she said, before resuming eating her fruit.

Yuri shrugged. "Maybe...They've all changed, nya"

The batgirl chirruped questioningly.

"Well..." the catgirl looked around, trying to word this right. "When we were young, we all cared about each other, and had fun together, nya. Now...it's almost as if everyone's forgotten that we're even related, nya."

Betty just shrugged, "'least you got family and you know they love you really. I dun have anyone except Tony. Dun even remember my "Umm" much...I was really small when they took her 'way." **((A/N: 'Umm' is the Arabic word for 'mother'))**

Yuri paused slightly, then slowly looked up at Betty.

"You-...You were taken from your Okkasan, nya?" she whispered

The bat nodded. "One day warm fur, and milk and...," she searched for the right word, then just motioned for Yuri to come closer and gave her a quick lick across the nose with her tongue, similar the kisses a mother will give her newborn, "n th' next...no Umm, and people are stickin'..._things_…in me..."

Yuri trembled slightly, before putting her hands under her lap.

"...Who did that to you, nya?"

Betty looked away and said gently, in a bitter voice Yuri hadn't heard her use before: "DG"

"Who's DG, nya?"

"Don't...don't like to...talk 'bout him...bad memories."

"...Just tell me...do you remember how old he was, nya?"

"Dunno...40 human? dunno...hard tu tell. Why?"

A low growl was the answer, followed by a harsh landing outside of the pad.

Betty soon followed curiously.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"OK, let me go over this again" Don muttered for the thousandth time. "We are mutated only from the ooze, whiles Betty, and probably Yuri, were mutated from other experiments"

Mikey stared. "That doesn't make any sense..."

Don slapped his own forehead.

"Lab animals, Mikey," he explained patiently, "get used for medical trials and experiments."

"...I swear you don't use real words"

"He means people in labs deliberately hurt animals to test what might happen to humans."

"Ooooh! Why didn't ya just SAY?"

"Then why are they movin' from mice and frogs, to bats and cats?" Raph asked gruffly

"Maybe because they're mammals and they're more closely related to humans?" the brainy turtle suggested.

"Maybe they forgot its illegal to experiment on pets and endangered animals..." The brawn turtle muttered.

"We may never know the reasons," Leo said.

Suddenly the two ladies in question streaked past. First Yuri, then Betty in hot pursuit.

"...now that ain't something ya see everyday, cat's bein' chased by a rodent" Mikey chuckled, before his brothers slapped him on the back of the head.

"Maybe they're playing"

"Is it normal for the cat to be as...'ticked off' as Raphael?" the alligator asked, scratching his head.

"Ey!" the red clad turtle took a slight offence at that.

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Betty finally managed to catch up with Yuri and tackled her.

"OOOFFF!!!"

SPLASH!!!!

..."AHH!!" Yuri quickly came up to breath, and shook her head, coughing slightly. "NANI-ka?!"

The cat turned, "What was that for, nya?!"

"I dunno where you're going!" the bat explained, since the water was shallow she easily swam and pulled herself out, then helped Yuri out.

Yuri blinked, then smiled. "I'm going to go ask a friend about something, nya. It's topside, and the sun isn't down for another 30 minutes, nya. Stay with Don-kun, he'll take care of you, nya."

With that, the cat pried herself out of the bat's grip and ran away at top speed.

Betty made a high screeching noise but trudged back, hands in her pockets.

"What happened?" Leo asked

"Lost her," Betty said and bore her fangs at him warningly when she saw him attempt to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wha-, were you racein' or something'?" Mikey asked, totally serious.

The bat shook her head and remained silent.

Don stood up. "Betty...what happened?"

"She's gone to see someone...I dunno who..." and then she sat down in the middle of the floor and hugged her knees.

Don looked over to Leo, before walking over to Betty. "is...is it that serious?"

"I dunno where she's gone," the bat answered quietly.

Don once again looked to his brothers who shrugged back.

"She...said she was gonna see a friend, an' I can't go 'cos it's too bright"

Don sighed. "Don't worry Betty. She'll be ok. She's probably gone to see April or Casey"

Mikey looked to Leo. "I thought those two were gone for the weekend?" he whispered.

"'at's jus' what they told ya so ya'd leave 'em alone," Raph said dryly.

Mikey frowned slightly at Raph.

Betty sighed and, unnoticed, slipped off up to Yuri's pad, she was feeling tired again, so, hoping that Yuri wouldn't mind, she lay down on the cat's bed and fell asleep, feet facing the pillow, a parody of hanging upside down.

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"Excuse me," Leatherhead spoke up, after watching turtles for awhile, "but where is your guest?"

The said turtles looked around.

Don sighed. "This is getting old," he muttered.

"Seriously," his brothers agreed.

Honestly, how was it that a bat, untrained and apparently glass jawed, could continually sneak past 4 fully trained ninjas?

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Meanwhile, at April's apartment...

"The old TGRI lab?" April asked, confused. "I thought it was wiped out by-" She paused.

The cat nodded. "It was, nya. But they must've relocated, nya." the cat pointed at April accusingly. "You worked with that mouser project, nya! Where was the animal lab that sistered yours, nya?!"

"Calm down Yuri." the woman pleaded softly. "All I knew is that they had refunded their business near central I think..."

Yuri paced around, lowly growling as she did so.

"Here," Casey, being thoughtful and not screwing it up for once, handed Yuri a glass of cold milk, "chill out, Yuri." he advised cautiously, "why ya askin' anyway?"

Yuri sighed and snatched the glass away from the vigilante, sitting down as she did so. Taking a quick sip of the milk, she looked up, and frowned.

"They're doing more experiments, nya" the cat muttered. "Raph-kun and I were going topside the other night for a night-watch thing, nya..."

She paused...

"Go on," April encouraged her gently, as Casey slumped down beside her, feigning disinterest but failing miserably.

"More experiments?" he asked eventually.

"HAI!!!" Yuri looked at her lap and growled as only a cat could. "Raph-kun and I ran into a girl who turned out to be another experiment from TGRI!!"

"What?" April looked aghast. "I thought they were history!"

"Iie! This girl was once a little fruit bat, nya! Taken away from her mother and forced to be human, nya!"

"How could she become human?" Casey asked, realizing his mistake as soon as he asked because now the cat was glaring at him..."Eh he...sorry," he rubbed the back of his head in an apologetic way, "no offence."

"A fruit bat...a real one?" April asked, "How old is she?" trying to gain some idea of how the girl looked.

Yuri looked back at April. "She claims to be about 2 years old, nya," she cooed.

April crossed her arms in thought. "That would make her about 14 years old our time, wouldn't it?"

Yuri nodded. "That's what Donnie-kun said, nya"

"A two year old who looks 14," Casey said with interest, "she a ninja too?"

"Not if she's only two, Casey," April corrected, "and judging from how Yuri's described her, she's not a fighter." she then looked at Yuri, "does she need anything? Like clothes?"

Yuri's ears suddenly perked up. "Oh, iie...Betty-chan is being taken care of by some guy named 'Tony', nya...Does that name ring any bells, April-chan, nya?"

The human woman thought for a while, recalling back...then a face came to mind. Seriously concerned brown eyes in a perpetually worried face, a bottom lip that had a dark patch where it'd been chewed...

"You mean Toneki Toshiba? His nickname was Tony, said it was easier to pronounce."

"So he DID work there, nya!" Yuri accused, standing.

"Yes, he did...but," more memories came back, "I heard someone shouting at him once, loudly. He said something about...some experiment being inhuman and…someone else shouted back "Mr Toneki, I don't _care_ what you think! You're a lab assistant, just _do_ it!"

April shuddered, "that tone...the kind that says: "you do not refuse or you wind up dead."

Yuri's eye twitched, before looking out the window slightly...

"Who is D.G., nya...Someone who worked there...DG, nya..."

April shook her head; it didn't ring any bells with her.

"Are ya sure 'at's what he's called and not jus' what SHE calls him?" Casey asked suddenly.

Yuri walked over to the open window and clenched her fists so tightly, that they started to bleed.

"Ah...Yuri, honey," April spoke up, "you...shouldn't do that, come here," and carefully pried the catgirl's hands open, "Come on, we'll clean your hands up."

Yuri trembled as April touched her now wounded hands. "Why didn't I die too, nya?"

April finished cleaning up Yuri's hands then hugged her gently, "because you're a lucky white cat." she said, trying to cheer her up, "with a new friend you've just left in the care of your brothers."

Yuri sighed and let April hug her...before she burst into tears, quickly clinging to the woman.

"Gomenusai, nya"

The human rubbed her back and let her cry until she was out of tears, then dried her face off.

"OK now?"

"H-Hai..." the cat gently pried away from the woman. "I've wasted both of your times, nya" she said bowing. "Gomenusai, nya"

"No, you're fine- Yuri what are you doin-?"

The cat had perched herself on the window. "I'm going to settle a score, nya. Don't tell Leo-kun, nya" With that, the cat jumped out of the window, and into the night.

"-the heck?" Casey asked.

"I...don't know," April said worriedly...she called Don.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lair...

Don jumped slightly at the fact that his shell cell went off suddenly. "Don here." he answered.

"Don, it's April...Yuri was just here."

"Oh thank God...is she still there?"

"No-o, she just left...said...something about settling a score...I'm worried."

"Settling a score?...That sounds more like Raph or Casey than Yuri...Did she head in the direction of the lair?" the smart turtle asked.

"I...don't know where she went..." April admitted, "she was out the window so quickly I didn't see."

Don sighed and rubbed his forehead slightly. "Thanks April...we'll take it from here."

"Okay...call me as soon as you find anything out."

"Don't worry...I will" Don paused before he closed his shell cell. "...Leo?"

Leo paused whatever it was he'd been doing to look at his brother, "Yeah?" he asked

"That was April...Yuri's run off..."

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Splinter paced slowly, with his four sons kneeling in front of him. Such a rash act...so out of character...

"Was your sister the last one to speak to our guest?" he asked lowly.

Leo nodded, "apparently so, Sensei. They were talking in her pad then they both bolted past...then Betty came back and told us that Yuri said she'd gone to see a friend and she couldn't go with her because the sun was still up"

"Where is miss Betty now?"

"Umm...we don't know..."

Mikey looked from Leo to Splinter. "For all we know, Sensei, Betty could either be at her own lair, or still here."

"She was too fast for us." Don agreed.

"Too fast for a ninja?" The rat asked.

Silence...

It was around about now that Betty woke up feeling much better and stretched. Then she jumped down from Yuri's pad and, somehow, managed to land neatly on the floor.

Splinter looked over slightly, noticing the bat. "Betty-san. Are you feeling better?" he asked lowly.

The lead turtle took a slight glance over as well.

The bat nodded silently and rubbed her eyes gently, wiping away the sleep.

"Yuri not back?" she asked softly, looking around for her friend.

All five shook their heads as a reply

"Where's she gone?" the bat tilted her head, some stray hair/fur falling across her eyes, "she...mad?"

"We don't know." Don replied softly, so as not to worry her. "This has never happened before."

"And she won't answer her shell-cell" Mikey added, looking confused. "So we're not sure what's going on."

Betty bit her lip thoughtfully...then recounted the conversation she and Yuri had earlier.

"...DG?" Don said, eventually, who's DG?"

"I...don't...wanna..." she answered, looking wary, "I..._can't_ say it..."

"Then don't." Leo said, standing up. "Don't say anything you don't want to. We don't want you to feel uncomfortable with us."

"Computer!" she answered, "I needa computer...I...can...show you..." but she swallowed nervously.

She didn't want to do this...but she had a sinking feeling...

"I've got a computer." Don said, standing. "But what exactly do you need to show us?"

"DG." she answered quietly, staring at her shoes.

She just KNEW the nightmares would start up again. She'd been doing so well, they were becoming less...she'd just have to ask Tony for a bigger sketchbook.

The turtles looked at each other, before getting up and carefully leading Betty to Don's equipment.

The bat stared at the mishmash of screens...then deftly opened the Internet browser to a search engine and typed in the name: "Dr Goodman"

...The picture that came up showed a man in his early 50's. He looked like someone's grandfather. But the batgirl just stared at it as if frozen, like a deer in the headlights.

Under the photo was written: "Dr. Goodman, head of Medical Research, TGRI."

The turtles gaped silently, before Don noticed Betty's frozen look and set a hand softly on the girl's shoulder.

"TGRI..." Leo muttered. "Had been five buildings north of the north tower itself..." he gritted his teeth. "They must've rebuilt."

"Dude, I've heard of scary, but this guy is just plain freaky lookin'" Mikey muttered, expecting to get hit.

"For once, I agree with shell-head." Raph muttered.

The bat started to cry quietly, burying her face in her hands, as the bad memories she'd worked so hard to get over came flooding back.

She remembered that face and the voice. The one who ordered people to hurt her, the one who threatened to have Tony hurt if Tony didn't do as he was told...The one who'd taken away her mother!

Leo looked over to Don, who nodded.

"Here Betty. C'mon." He said softly, holding out his hand out to her.

She didn't move, didn't even look up, but muttered, "he hurts everyone...he was gonna hurt Tony..."

Don took her hand and kneeled down. "He's not going to hurt anyone else, as long as we have a say in it." he promised.

"I...think...he hurt...Yuri too..."

Don gave a start. "Wha- what do you mean? Does he have her or something?"

She shook her head quickly. "No...but I...heard lotsa stuff...'bout things that failed or...got away...and I remember...hearin' 'bout kitties...an...stuff...y'know?"

Don squeezed Betty's hand gently. "Can you remember?"

"Have nightmares 'bout it," she answered "...he used to talk 'bout th' kitties lots...'bout...findin' the ones that escaped...th'..." she frowned, how many cats had he said had got away?

...And the turtle...they'd thrown it down the sewer...because it'd died in the lab...should she tell them about that one?

Don looked up to his brothers, worriedly.

"Guess he wasn't too interested in cover ups huh?" Mikey said eventually.

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_**Author's Note:**__ if you've reached this far, thank you for your patience and perseverance (gives out cookies) I know this one was long, but I'm trying to get the fic to move along a little faster._


	11. The Unforgiven

_**Author's note:**__ where did Yuri run off to? Is it significant to the plot? Do I actually have a plot? What exactly is a plot and how do you plot out a plot anyway?_

_Betty: You're saying 'plot' too much_

_WWW: really? Huh…anyway. Read on!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ The day that Hell freezes over is the day that I own TMNT…until then they belong to Mirage._

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Yuri studied the building, which was now apparently the new TGRI building. The cat's eyes narrowed. That smell...even though it was in a different location, it was a horrific, deadly, familiar smell.

She reached into the extremely small pockets of her skirt, and quick as lightning, threw five ninja stars into the building's main power grid, instantly the lights in the building went out.

Back at the lair, Betty suddenly squeaked...she KNEW...where Yuri'd gone...

"I know... she stood up and bolted. "You follow!"

Don jumped up. "Betty?..."

Raph didn't ask any questions. He immediately unsheathed his sai, and bolted after the batgirl.

Leo, Don and Mikey weren't far behind

It seemed as if everything went in fast forward. A millisecond for them to reach topside, a minute to find the building, less to spot Yuri...and half a second for Betty to scale the building and grab onto her friend.

"NO!" Betty told her friend, holding her firmly around the waist. "Nonononono!"

Yuri paused and whirled around, just to find her friend latched onto her.

"...Nani-kie?" She muttered.

"Don't!" Betty begged, "Don't go in...'cos...he's LOOKIN' for you and the other kitties! N...he's gonna HURT you...like me...an'...like...like...he was gonna...do...to Tony..." the bat started to cry again, holding Yuri tightly.

"He's got a problem, nya" Yuri muttered. "I haven't forgiven him, nya..." She tried to pry Betty off of her. "and I never will, nya!"

Suddenly Yuri was turned around...and smacked.

"Are you listening to yourself, Yuri?" Don asked, shaking his palm out, it was unusual for Dan to lose his temper, "no-one said you had to forgive him. She wasn't telling you to. She was trying to keep you safe."

Yuri backed up at the sight of her brothers...then growled. "Back off, nya. I've already lost my brothers, nya. I can't let that go unpunished, nya"

"What are you talking about?" the four turtles demanded.

This looked like it was going to go bad. Betty's mind went "click" as whatever process it went through completed.

"Yuri..." Betty leaned up and whispered something into the cat's ear, something the turtles didn't catch but it made the anger in Yuri's eyes die.

Yuri trembled...then turned her back on the group, once again clenching her fists so tight, her gloves began to re-stain themselves.

The cat did nothing but let herself bleed. "I should've gone too, nya..." she muttered. "I won't allow any other animal suffer for what some idiot wants, nya"

Betty hugged her and said: "not now though..."

Don stepped up. "Listen to Betty, Yuri. They will be punished for what they are doing, just not this second."

"We'll find a way to help these animals...But we need to talk it out." Leo agreed.

"You don't get it, do you, nya?" Yuri hissed, turning. "I should have died, nya!"

"What are you-"

"I was the first successful experiment, nya! I should have tried to help the others, nya!"

This was the point that Betty snapped. "You're LUCKY! You grew up with people who love you despite that! I grew up in a cage; you got that? A CAGE! Not even a BIG cage like at Central Zoo, a cage I could just about stand up and sit down in! We should BOTH be dead! Both of us!," she calmed, needing to catch her breath, "but we're not...we're NOT...because we're _supposed_ to live."

Yuri paused and backed away slightly, ears pressed down.

The turtles stood there watching the batgirl's outburst, mouths hanging open in surprise.

Really, a bat facing down a cat was...like watching a cat chase a dog, something that just didn't happen.

It was probably only Donatello that noticed Betty had spoken without her words breaking.

Betty suddenly put a hand to the side of her head and said: "I...my head _hurts_..." and fell to her knees on the floor.

Yuri stood for a second...before she kneeled down and watched the batgirl. "Betty-chan..." she muttered, tears filling her eyes. "Gomenusai, nya..."

Mikey began to approach the girls out of worry, but was kept back by Raph

Slowly, the bat moved her hands from where they'd been pressed against the sides of her head, at her ears...there was blood on her palms.

Yuri trembled, then slowly set her own blood stained hands on the Batgirl's hands. Carefully, the cat peered over towards the side of the bat's head. That would take time to heal...rest...care...water...It would heal.

Yuri looked back and slowly mouthed 'I'm sorry' to the bat.

Betty gave her a weak smile and said to Yuri, "I…wanna go to Tony's...pleasies?"

Yuri blinked and then nodded. "H-hai!" she stammered.

"You're not going alone, Yuri" the lead turtle said, stepping up.

"Yeah, we'll come with ya," Mikey added.

"Besides, it's probably not a good idea for Betty to walk if her ears are bleeding," Don chimed in, picking up the batgirl carefully.

"Oak Road," Betty said woozily, unconsciously moving closer to the purple clad turtle, "n Tony lives in Samson Apt. 17D."

Don nodded, and started off, Mikey and Leo in pursuit.

Yuri watched them go off, and gave a glance towards the building...

Don nodded, and started off, Mikey and Leo in pursuit.

Yuri watched them go off, and gave a glance towards the building...

It would have to wait...but the fact was gnawing...

"C'mon, Kitten," Raph said, putting a hand on her shoulder and snapping her out of her thoughts, "she'd want ya to be with her, right?"

Without waiting for a reply, he picked her up and sped off after his brothers.

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Tony was watching Discovery when there came a tapping at his window.

Yuri watched as the man was pulled out of his entertainment...just to find...Betty...in the arms of...O-Kay...he opened the window.

"Bet," he said, reaching for the batgirl, who hugged on him and let him help her in, "What...who are they?"

"...friends..." the bat answered quietly. Then the man noticed the drying blood.

"Come on, we'll clean you up..." to the turtles and Yuri he said, "you might as well come in, someone needs to explain to me why...how this happened..."

Leo nodded. "Of course...but first, tend to Betty. She's in medical need."

Yuri quickly struggled out of Raph's grip and watched Tony closely. Even if she had given this man some of her trust, she was still wary of him.

Tony nodded and led Betty over to his kitchen table and started to gently clean her up whilst the turtles and the cat looked around.

It seemed pretty much like a normal bachelor apartment. There was a small television, a computer on a desk in one corner and some family photos strewn around.

On the coffee table were various books on small animals, plus the start of what looked like a thesis on veterinary care.

"What you think?" Leo whispered quietly.

Don looked back. "I'm not sure...I hope he can help her though."

Mikey looked around. "This is a nice pad' ya got here" He said, out of no-where.

Yuri snorted sarcastically. Mikey could NEVER be serious...

"Thanks," the human answered distractedly, still cleaning up Betty, "Bets, hold still," he said gently, "I need to look."

"Okies," came the answer and Betty sat as still as possible for him whilst he used a small flashlight to look inside her ears.

"Doesn't look too bad, just ruptured something...I'll finish cleaning them and then you'll just have to wait for them to heal up."

Tony treated Betty so carefully like big brother with a much younger sister; it was heart-warming

Yuri finally relaxed, and sat on the floor, carefully watching Tony. Still...she seemed so tense while he handled Betty. Almost as if he were handling her own...Yuri shook her head. Betty said that we were friends, and as a friend, I will protect her, nya.

"Is she gonna be ok?" Don finally asked.

"She'll be fine," the human ruffled Betty's hair gently, getting a pleased sounding purr from the bat in response, "as long as she stays away from loud noises that hurt her ears."

"Ya hear that, Mikey? Ya gotta leave now." Raph teased.

"Uh...anyway...you guys want anything to eat or drink whilst you tell me how this happened?"

"Sure" Mikey immediately responded.

The other turtles insisted that they were fine.

"Think there's some diet coke in the fridge, go help yourself," then he looked at Yuri, "there's milk if you want some, I bought it this morning...now will someone PLEASE tell me how Betty ended up bleeding from the ears?"

Yuri stood up. "This was my fault, nya." she muttered.

"How so?" he asked her

"I...shouted, Tony," Betty told him carefully

"Hai, but I shouldn't have argued with them, nya" The cat said, placing her foot down. "I made Betty-chan upset...because I was being too Raph-kun headed to realize that I needed to work things out, nya"

Yuri sighed once again. "Gomenusai...Watashi exintne desu" she cooed.

"Come and sit down," Tony said companionably to everyone, "just find space...I need an explanation of...well, how the turtle's, no offence, didn't catch your names, came into being? I don't...remember seeing anything in the computer systems about you."

Betty was cuddled up to Tony's side on the sofa quicker than you could blink.

Don and Leo sat on whatever furniture they could find. Mikey plopped himself on the other side of the couch. Yuri sat on the floor, shadowed by Raph.

"So...who starts? Where's your story start?"

Leo sighed, and started it off. "We've always been told that when we were just four baby turtles, we were accidentally thrown into the sewers. As we landed, some ooze from a canister had dumped itself onto us. Master Splinter-"

"Who's a rat" Mikey added.

"...yes... well he got us out of it, getting the junk on himself." Leo continued. "The next morning we had all doubled in size, and intelligence. Shortly there after, Master Splinter found Yuri, who was just a kitten at that time."

"Ever since then, we all pretty much mutated from that stuff." Don explained.

"Hmm, similar story to Betty...except you weren't..." he didn't say it in case the batgirl got upset. It was obvious he was very careful with her and cared a lot about her.

"Not them" Yuri muttered, standing and walking over to the window, just to look out. "Arigato, nya..."

Betty gave a soft chirrup, perfectly happy now that she had someone to cuddle against.

The sound caused Tony to look down at her, "I suppose," he said to the turtles and Yuri, "you want information on Betty in return. I'll tell you what I know but I'm telling you now that if she starts getting upset, I'm stopping."

The turtle's began to nod

"That's fine with us." Leo agreed.

"Well," the human started, "she's a fruit bat, I'm assuming you already know that, various medical trials have been carried out on her before she changed," he looked down at Betty and found that she'd nodded off so deemed it safe enough to continue, "Understand, I was only in on the later experiments, but from the files I went through whilst I was there, it seems they also injected her with human DNA."

Don went wide eyed...that was BEYOND cruel, but it did answer how she was more human looking than Yuri, though he remained silent.

Yuri's ears turned, listening to this. Injection of human DNA...that sounded so familiar...

But the bat had been through more than just one injection, Yuri figured. She probably got the whole thing...

"I think the theory was that the treatments they tested on her would work better if the subject seemed vaguely human...then...DG...got his hands on some...ooze I think you called it?"

The turtles nodded.

"That's at least what it looked like" Mikey pointed out.

"Yeah...I'm the one who had to inject her...DG is...not someone who lives up to his name, if you understand me..."

"She...did mention that...he threatened to hurt you,"

Tony nodded gravely, "along the lines of that he could have me killed and make it look like an accident," then looked at Betty again, "she changed the second it hit her blood stream...long story short...she started biting people when they tried to come near her with needles or tubes...after that they found it easier to give her tainted food."

"Is that why he stopped injecting them himself, nya?" A low growl asked. "Kumbayato..."

Another grave nod, "It broke my heart to see her, I was never involved in any of the things that caused her scars, my job was nightshift, just to monitor, most of the time...Even as an ordinary bat, she always had these intense brown eyes. I used to sneak her food that wasn't infected."

"Touching." Leo said. "Was Betty the only one infected with Human injection?"

"No..." the human shook his head, "she was the only one in the time that I was there, but I heard talk that there were more. Cats and...Another turtle. But I'm told the turtle died in the lab one day...this was all before I worked there though."

"Cats?" Raph asked.

"Another turtle?" Don echoed. "There's more?"

"Well obviously that turtle wasn't as resistant as we were."

"'Resistant?' Man, Mikey, yer gettin' desperate." Raph muttered.

"There was one...I think he, yes, it was a he, I'm sure that's what the file said, was mutated as a new hatchling...and the cats, I think were random strays..." he trailed off.

"They gat away," Betty murmured sleepily, trying to bury herself in Tony's side, "th' kitties got away."

"A turtle hatchling?...Like us almost?" the orange clad turtle asked.

"So the turtle died and the cats got away?" Don asked. "How many cats were there?"

"Let me think, it's been awhile since I saw the files, remember..." Tony bit his lip thoughtfully

Yuri turned slightly. If he was talking about...

"...six," Tony answered eventually, "five kittens, three female, two males and their mother. So six all together."

"And they got away," Betty yawned a little, "four of them got away. Heard someone say it..."

Yuri suddenly whirled around. "FOUR, NYA!? Which ones, nya?!" she demanded, startling all.

"Ithnan akh..." Betty rubbed her eyes, not daunted by Yuri, though the turtles seemed to be.

"English, Betty," Tony reminded her gently.

"Um...two brothers, a girl and Umm."

"Did you forget the word?" Mikey piped up

"It's Arabic for 'Mother'," Tony told him, "So, two brothers, one of the girls and the mother cat."

Yuri gaped for a long time, before looking out the window. "How did they escape, nya?" She asked, looking spooked, and overjoyed at the same time.

"That I can't tell you," Tony said, "it's not on file how they got away...but I know that newborn animals are pretty slippery little characters, so I'm assuming they found their own way."

"...your brothers?" Betty asked Yuri quietly.

Yuri looked back to the group...

"And…What about the sisters, nya?" She asked, kneeling down, taking one of Betty's hands.

The bat shook her head, "I dunno." she said honestly.

Yuri's ears went back slightly. She looked up to Tony. "You will continue to take care of my tomodachi, won't you, nya?" She asked, motioning to Betty.

"Vets honour" at everyone's questioning look he motioned towards the texts books on the table. "I'm retraining."

Betty held firm to Yuri's hands "Stay?" she asked, "When I go home, you stay with me?"

Yuri's ears went back...before she smiled. "Only if Leo-kun and Raph-kun will let me, nya..." she cast a glance at her purple clad brother. "And only if Don-kun will forgive me, nya"

"You're sure your bunker is safe?"

"You didn't find it 'til Yuri did," the bat pointed out calmly.

"True," Don conceded, "and yeah, Yuri, I forgive ya," and he leaned over and ruffled the cat's hair.

"Alright- mmph!' Three hands clapped over Mikey's mouth before he could say something crude like "girl on girl action."

"Aww..." came Mikey's muffled voice.

Yuri giggled slightly, before she got up and stretched. She gave a slight bow at Tony. "Arigato, gazimasu, nya" she cooed.

"You're welcome," he replied cheerfully.

With that much said, the cat looked towards her bat-friend in satisfaction

"You ready to go, Betty?" Don asked carefully

"Mm," the bat nodded, "Thankies for helpin' me, Tony," she said and hugged her human friendly as tightly as she could.

"Any time, Bets," Tony answered and messed her hair, making her purr again. Though he gave the turtles a look that said, "You look after her"

Yuri hugged one of Betty's arms. "Kitty's honour, nya! I'll make sure Mikey-kun doesn't even breath on Betty-chan, nya!"

"HEY!!"

Yuri turned, winked, and shook her tail at her brother.

Betty snickered behind her hands and stood up, "B'byes Tony," she said and gave the human man a kiss on the cheek.

"Take care," Tony repeated the gesture, "I'll come visit you soon."

Quick as a wink the four turtles, the cat and the bat were out the window and on their way to a sewer.

"What's the fastest way back?" Raph asked, getting tired of running around.

"West street-...I think" Mikey said, jumping over a building.

"Well then by all means, nya" Yuri stuck her tongue out at her 4th oldest brother and took off like lightning.

"NO FAIR" the orange clad turtle yelled, running after her.

Betty opted to jump on Don's back and cling on there.

"What are you doing?"

"Tired," she answered, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging on there.

A slight blush came to the purple clad turtle's face, before he smiled and continued to follow his family.

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_**Author's note:**__ awww! Isn't she so cute? huggles Betty Ah wuv yew mah head bebeh! XD_

_Betty: Gah! Can't….breathe[struggles/goes blue in the face_


	12. Girls Night & Pranks

_**Author's Note:**__ This one is short because it's mostly just funny. I swear there'll be dramatics in the next one. I just wanted to torture Mikey - a little retribution for upsetting Betty_

_**Disclaimer:**__ wish I owned TMNT but I don't TTTT_

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Arriving in the sewers Betty hopped down off Don's back. "Thankies" she said and gave him a kiss to the cheek, getting him some knowing looks from his brothers when he blushed again.

"You gotta get stuff from your pad?" the bat asked Yuri calmly.

The cat planted her foot on Michelangelo's foot as he started to snicker. "Already got it, nya." she cooed. "This is about all I wear, save for the clothes that I have to wear for going to the surface, nya"

Quickly Yuri's hand went up and she pulled Raph down ear-level by his mask strings. "If Mikey-kun says ANYTHING to Don-kun, I expect you to take care of it, nya" she muttered.

"Gotcha, Kitten," the tough turtle whispered back then said aloud "Go on, shoo, get outta here the pair 'o ya."

The bat snickered again and took Yuri's hand, "Race ya." she chirruped happily.

"Yer on, nya!" The cat crouched down. "un, du, tua...Go!"

The four brothers watched as the two girls ran off. Mikey looked over. "Does this mean we need to tell Sensei that Yuri won't be joinin' us for dinner?"

"Guess so," Leo answered, "Come on, let's go."

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It was a matter of minutes before the two girls reached Betty's bunker - a draw since the both reached the door at the same time, then collapsed on the threadbare sofa giggling like crazy.

"You want the bed or the sofa?" the bat asked, once the giggles had stopped.

"I'll take the sofa, nya." the cat replied. "I like high places, so I'll just lay on the top, nya" With that much said, she nuzzled her face against the bat's shoulder in a friendship gesture.

The bat chirruped in a friendly way, then seemed to have something on her mind.

"Why'd Donnie go red?" she asked eventually, she knew her mind had already picked him out as a possible mate (as well as some people she saw now and then down in China Town) but she didn't understand blushing.

Yuri stared at her for the longest time, before finally taking the hint at what she meant. "OH! Donnie-kun keeps going red when you're making friendly gestures, because he's blushing, nya" the cat explained. "I think he likes you, nya, which is why Mikey-kun and Raph-kun keep teasing him, nya"

Suddenly Yuri wished she'd left Leo in charge...

The bat digested this piece of information for a few minutes. Well, she sort of liked Don better than the others, mostly because she'd had more than a few words with him and...He'd stayed to cuddle with her, which had been nice.

"He...thinks he might wanna be my mate?"

Yuri wanted to giggle...oh she wanted to giggle. Instead, she blushed.

"Uhm...I guess so, nya" the cat tried to word this right. "But we ninjas take relationships step by step, nya. First friends, then possible boyfriend & girlfriend, nya, then maybe mates, nya" The cat reached up and rubbed her head, blushing. "It's a...interesting process, nya. It happened to me too, nya"

OH SLAG?! WHY'D I SAY THAT, NYA?!

The other girl blinked.

"Raph?" she said, taking a wild guess.

Yuri looked down suddenly, blushing. "How-??"

"Just guessed," Betty answered, "n he c'lls yu 'Kitten' and you talk to him most...I think that's how..."

The cat paused...

"Are you hungry, nya?" she suddenly, very quickly said.

The bat shook her head, "no...wanna shower, but you can help yourself to the fridge." and she stood up, took a towel from a small makeshift clothes line set up towards the back of her kitchen and headed to her small bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Soon the gurgling sound of water filling pipes gently filled the bunker.

Yuri followed Betty's invitation and opened the fridge.

"Yuri...you're a baka, nya" the cat muttered to herself. "It's a good thing Mikey-kun's not here or he'd freak out on me, nya"

Being a cat, Yuri didn't enjoy hearing the sounds of the water, but she tried to block it out by trying to figure out what she could have.

"I should'a asked Leo-kun to bring me a spare piece of Anchovy pizza, nya...there's nothing here but fruit, and fruit juice, nya"

There was one box in the front that proclaimed it was from a Chinese restaurant though. When Yuri opened it, it smelt like...CHICKEN!

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Back at the lair Don was indeed being given a hard time now and then by Mikey but was quickly silenced by a bump to the head from Raph.

"Mikey, leave 'im alone!" the red clad turtle ordered

"Aw, c'mon' Raph!" Mikey giggled. "Little miss 'innocent' isn't here" He poked at Don. "She can't hear me teasin' ol' lover boy here!"

"Mikey, leave Don alone." Leo said, practicing with his swords.

Mikey stuck out his tongue at his oldest brother, and then grinned back at Don.

"I'm just curious, lover turtle. Did you intend for her to cuddle up against ya, or did you have tah break out the smooth moves?"

"I didn't 'intend' for her to do anything Mikey," Don answered, with a bored roll of his eyes then focusing back on his computer screen, "she jumped on my back by herself, just leave it at that."

"Whatcha researchin'?" Mikey continued, undaunted, "how to pick up chicks?" and leaned over his brother's shoulder to peer at the main screen. "Fruit bats. Hey guys! Donnie's looking up how to court Miss Squeaks-alot!"

"Mikey, leave him alone." Leo repeated, still twirling his swords.

"I wonder what'cha get when you cross breed a turtle and a bat!" Mikey wondered.

"Mikey..."

"Or better yet!!! How about a turtle and a-"

The orange clad turtle suddenly found himself hit in the face with several pillows and all three of his brothers shouted "BE QUIET!" together.

Splinter had long since retired after hearing of his daughter's whereabouts so wasn't around to berate them for fighting amongst themselves.

Mikey giggled as he removed the pillows. "So...are we SURE they'll be ok on they're own?" he asked out of nowhere.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Mikey," Leo answered, "If you're that worried, YOU go check on them."

"Fine, I'll do that." Mikey mocked, pointing at Leo. "I'll just make sure that YOUR little sister hasn't had our bat friend for a midnight snack."

"Go do that then," Raph chimed in; he was channel surfing disinterestedly.

"Fine!" and he stormed off out of the lair towards the bunker where Betty lived.

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"Okies?" Betty asked, emerging from the bathroom, dressed in her sleep shirt, rubbing her head fur dry with her towel.

Yuri paused with another chopsticks load of the Chinese food halfway to her mouth; she soon chewed what she had in her mouth, and swallowed. "Hai, arigato, nya." she blushed. "Sorry...I kinda got carried away, nya. It's a cat thing, nya"

The cat wiped her face. "Do you think other animals beside birds and kitties like music, nya?"

"I like Jazz," the bat answered softly, folding her towel over her makeshift clothesline, "smooth jazz, though n classic rock," then she sat cross-legged on her sofa.

Yuri noticed that Betty's legs were unscarred; they were skinny, but not scarred.

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Mikey had reached Betty's bunker by now, and was eavesdropping through the keyhole and a crack in the wood.

"All this and they're just talkin' about music...sheesh" the orange clad turtle muttered silently.

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"Well..." The cat started off. "I like some types of Rock...I like to listen to what the humans call 'Christian' music...I like classical, and piano...but..." the cat paused, "Sometimes at night when I can't sleep, I usually sing myself to sleep, nya. I noticed...that all the snoring in the lair stops, nya...but...I'm wondering, if I'm waking the lair up, I wonder why they haven't yelled at me, nya"

The cat looked up. "And sometimes I sneak out of the lair at night so I can sing somewhere in the sewers, nya. Once I've finished, I notice that there's a lot of rats watching me, nya. Do you think animals like music?"

The bat nodded, "if plants do...animals must too..." She flopped backwards on the sofa and took a deep breath...she smelt turtle.

Very casually she walked over to Yuri and whispered in her ear, telling her to act natural...they could play a joke since one of her brothers liked spying so much, did Yuri have any ideas?

Yuri made a slight grin...

"You know...my 'nice, innocent' kitty act is working fine, nya...it won't be long before I start to eat soup from their shells, nya." She meowed. "Because out of all of them...I think Mikey-kun would taste the best, nya"

"I can drink his blood first, right?" Betty chimed in innocently.

They both had to stifle giggles when they heard a loud horrified gasp coming from behind the door.

Yuri's ears twitched slightly. "Of course, nya. You can tenderise him, then I'll skin and eat what's left of him, nya." She looked thoughtful, "then there's the others...We could always take their weapons and hypnotize them to serve us, nya."

Mikey didn't stick around to hear the rest, he bolted back to the lair as fast as he could and hid underneath the covers of his bed.

The two girls waited until his footsteps had retreated, then looked at each other, burst out laughing until their sides ached and highfived each other.

"I'll check on him in the morning, nya" Yuri giggled. "I hope we didn't scare him TOO bad, nya."

"We can freak him out some more tomorrow?" the bat asked between giggles, the reaction was sure to be priceless.

Yuri nodded and giggled.

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"OK...they said what?" Leo repeated, bemused.

"They...wanna EAT me!" the bundle of bedclothes (i.e. Mikey) answered, shaking.

"You're sure they didn't know you were there?"

"Yuri didn't sniff the air!!! SHE DIDN'T KNOW I WAS SPYIN' ON THEM!!!" the turtle replied

Raph snorted. "Yeah right."

"IT'S TRUE!!! BETTY'S REALLY A VAMPIRE BAT, and Yuri's...well," he paused. "... A KILLER CAT!!!" the turtle returned to whimpering.

"Uh, Mikey," Don spoke up, "you might be interested to know that BATS have a good sense of smell too..."

"It's likely they were jus windin ya up, Mike"

The joker turtle just tightened the blankets around himself: "You'll be sorry when I'm dead and turned into turtle soup!"

Raph grunted. "Fine Mikey, you want me tah prove ya wrong, FINE!" He started out the door, muttering about Mikey being a shell-head.

It was probably about 20 minutes later, whilst the cat and the bat were amicably arguing, over a scrabble game they'd discovered in a cupboard, about whether or not Japanese and Arabic words were allowed.

This time though, it was Yuri who caught the scent, but Betty who came up with the plan.

Raphael suddenly found himself hit in the face with a piece of soft fruit.

"Ey!"

"Serves you right for spying you peeping tom!" the bat retorted, resting her fists on her skinny hips.

Yuri turned and giggled slightly. "A soft fruit for a hard head, nya!"

"Very funny, Kitten..." Raph muttered. "I've got a question-"

"Yeah, girls ARE smarter than boys, nya"

Both girls giggled at the comment.

"Ha ha funny," the red clad turtle answered, wiping the remains of the unknown fruit off his face, "but that ain't my question."

"Oh?" Betty chirruped questioningly

"Didja know that Mikey was here earlier?"

The girls nodded and burst out into laughter again

Yuri finally stood up and smiled. "Don't worry, Raph-kun! I was going to check up on him in the morning, nya. Is he THAT spooked, nya?" she giggled. "Do I have to-"

Yuri quickly covered her mouth and paused, before looking to Betty. "We were just playing, right, nya?"

Betty nodded "knew he was out there, wanted to teach him about spyin on people"

"Yeah well, right now he's curled up on his bed crying like a little girl..."

Again both girls laughed, but not quite so loudly

"Good lesson then," the bat said wisely.

Yuri's laughing finally died, and she looked down to her feet. "Do I have to-..."

"Apologise?" Raph finished for her, "nah, I personally think a good scare does Mikey good every now 'n then," he grinned at them, "ya can do it tomorrow."

The batgirl smiled back, a toothy grin, giving him a good look at both sets of fangs.

Yuri grinned and suddenly hugged her big brother. "Arigato, Raph-kun. Just make sure Mikey-kun doesn't spook himself out too much, nya." she giggled.

"You got it Kitten," the tough turtle ruffled her hair gently, "I'm gonna leave ya two alone ta get some sleep."

"B'byes," Betty waved and shut the door behind him.

Yuri smiled and turned to see the bat smiling at her.

"...Nani?..am I blushing, nya?"

This mere thought hit Yuri...

"Want me to sing you a night song, nya?"

"Okies" the bat conceded and sat back down on the sofa. She didn't know what a night song was...maybe she could ask Tony.

As if on cue, the cat started to vocalize softly. The notes gently bounced of the walls as though there was a presence in the room other than that of the duo.

Yuri started singing in Japanese...still softly...still...strangely...but yet so peacefully

Betty didn't go to sleep but she did end up feeling calmer.

When the cat was done she clapped and chirruped happily. "you sing really well" she told her friend.

"Arigato, nya" The cat cooed. "Only master Splinter-sama likes my singing back at home...'cause my brothers never mention them liking it or not, nya," she smiled. "It makes me feel happy, nya"

The bat nodded, she could see why. She, personally, had no idea whether she could sing or not, never having tried.

"...You think Mikey's stoll freakin' out?" she asked with a small snicker.

Yuri snickered. "In a way, I hope so, nya...but...since he's my brother, nya...I hope he's ok, nya"

With a yawn, Yuri curled up. "Koban'wa, nya"

"Allah Lial," the bet countered, and threw a spare blanket to Yuri before heading to her own bed.

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Back at the lair, no force had yet managed to get Mikey to come out from under his covers. Not even pizza, he kept mumbling about "vampire turtle soup" or some such nonsense.

"Mikey, c'mon." Raph tried again. "I already toldja that Betty and Kitten were just playin'. They smelt you, and joked around."

"Come on' Mikey." Don said. "This is YURI we're talking about...She's always said she would get you back for all the pranks you've pulled on her."

"No way! You shoulda heard the tones of their voices! They were serious!" the pile of covers answered.

"Mikey..." Leo sighed, "they're probably just good actors. Come on, I'm sure they were just kidding."

"Nu-uh!"

"Fine, stay under there."

"Do I have to go wake them up and drag them here?" Raph asked, losing his patience.

"You're not bringing them here! They'll eat me!"

The did it, the hot-tempered turtle stormed off out of the lair and back to the fruit bat girl's bunker before anyone could react.

Yuri was fortunately up, hugging her knees to her chest, watching the bat sleep. And humming the tune from "Pale", trying to keep the bat soothed.

That was until the cat smelt the red-clad turtle's scent.

"Shh." she mumbled. "She's just barely stopped having nightmares, nya...She's sleeping peacefully now, nya" The cat turned. "What is it, nya?

"Nightmares?" Raph tilted his head at the currently peaceful fruit bat, "Anyway, I came ta getcha both 'cos Mikey won't come out from under his blankets. Ya need to reassure him"

The cat looked over towards the tough turtle. "This was my Idea...Betty-chan doesn't have to apologise for it, nya."

With that much said, the cat stood up and slowly headed for the door.

"Yeah...alright Kitten, c'mon, I'll bring ya straight back afterwards," if she was having nightmares then the batgirl shouldn't be on her own tonight, and he dropped an arm around Yuri's shoulders.

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_**Author's Note:**__ what does dear little Betty have nightmares about, you ask? Watch this space for the next chapter and find out! (waits for theme song)…………..(remembers that is a fiction not a television show)_


	13. Nightmares and Reassurance

_**Author's Note:**__ y'know, I heard once that if we could project our dreams onto a movie screens they'd be scarier than any horror movie…and that's just the good dreams!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ holds up TMNT figurines Ha! im in ur base stealin ur turtles! All ur ninja turtles r belong 2 me!...huh? what you mean 'it doesn't count?' (sigh) fine. I don't own TMNT (cries) _

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Betty dreamed...

_painPainPAIN! _

_It HURT! _

_Where was her mother? _

_Why was it so cold in here?_

_IT HURT! IT BURNED! _

_She could feel every bone break and grow, change..._

_What were these? WHAT WERE THESE? _

_Where were her wings?! _

_What'd happened to her fur?! _

_Cold...So cold_

_Days of tubes and food that was obviously infected…_

_People touching her…hurting her…taking pieces of her…_

_No more!_

_A hand came towards her and she bit it..._

"YEOOWWWW!!!!!!"

The yelp of pain woke her and it was then that she realised she really did have her teeth sunk into someone's hand...a green three fingered hand...

The bat blinked and instantly removed her teeth.

"Donnie!" she squeaked, horrified, jumping up to her knees, "I'm SO sorry! I was...oh…did...did I...hurt you?"

Don sucked on his hand where a small trickle of blood was forming. "Just a little" he mumbled, licking his wound. He finally took his hand out of his mouth and smiled. "Don't worry, I've had worse." The tech turtle chuckled. "Yuri sent me over to check on you"

"Was havin' nightmares," the bat answered softly, sitting back on her heels, making the old mattress creak.

"Nightmares...about what?"

A few seconds later, Don found himself with an armful of fruit bat for the third time in two days.

"Stay," Betty shivered, holding on for dear life, "don't wanna be alone now. Stay with me. Pleasies?"

Don jumped slightly, before he rested his arms around the bat. "It's ok, Betty. I won't let anything happen to you," he promised, "I won't let it, and neither will anyone else."

She cuddled closer, as if wanting to bury herself under his skin.

"...I _hate_ dreamin'," she whispered, "...they're so real...I can still feel...sometimes...everything they did to me. Gets so bad sometimes I'm scared to sleep..."

Don couldn't answer that one...ok, he'd had his fair share of bad dreams...but this one took the cake.

She was so scared...so hurt and torn...

Who could do such a thing to innocent animals?

He hugged her tightly

"Don't cry," he said gently, "I'll stay with you," then added jokingly, "make some room."

The bat obediently let go and shifted enough to let the brainy turtle sit and then lie down on the bed, before she cuddled up against his front, almost like they had been on her sofa, except her bed was bigger, having been made for two people.

Betty sighed and shifted a little before she eventually settled down and started to doze off again.

Don's eyes softened, as he gently ran a hand through her short, fluffy hair. Eventually, the turtle started to doze off as well.

"Don't worry Betty" He mumbled, "I will protect you..."

As if in answer he got a small, happy sounding chirrup from the batgirl's throat as she cuddled close.

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Back at the Lair the "get Mikey out from under his blankets" plan was...sort of going well. They'd convinced him that Yuri wasn't planning on eating him.

Yuri had finally given up talking to him, and was instead singing to the frightened turtle. Although the cat was concerned about her brother...she was also concerned about the bat, and she was also thinking of something else.

She wanted to make it right...For her brothers...for her sensei...for Betty-chan...for...

"Through the mist, see the face...of an angel who calls my name...I remember you're the reason I have to stay...Have to try to break free from the thoughts in my mind...Use the time that I have, I can't say goodbye, have to make it right...Have to fight, 'cause I know in the end it's worthwhile, That the pain that I feel slowly fades away...It will be alright..."

"Are you SURE you were kidding?" Mikey asked, peaking from the covers.

"I'm positive, nya." The cat replied. "What could I possibly like other than fish, milk, and the basics, nya?"

"But you said-"

"Don't flatter yourself, nya" Yuri muttered, ears going sideways. "You wouldn't taste good even if I washed you 100 times or more, nya"

"...TAKE THAT BACK!!"

"She's got a point, Mikey," Leo conceded, "You do kind of reek"

Mikey stuck his tongue out at them, "Fine, but what about Betty?"

Yuri's eye twitched. "What kind of two year old FRUIT BAT would try to eat a FULLY TRAINED Ninja turtle, nya?!" The cat paused, "Well...as fully trained as a whack head like YOU can get, nya"

Mikey glared at his sister. "You're positive?"

"Cross my heart, and hope to gag a fur ball, nya" Yuri purred.

"...Get off my bed."

"ARGH!!!"

THUD!!

Yuri got up and muttered something about boys being the same.

But in any case, Mikey wasn't hiding under his covers anymore, so mission accomplished.

"Way to go, Kitten," Raph laughed, "ya goin' back to Betty's or ya stayin' here now?"

Yuri paused and thought about this...

"I'm leaving, nya" The cat replied, heading for the entrance.

"I'll walk ya," Raph volunteered and headed after her.

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"...Makes me wish I hadda camera," the red clad turtle whispered at the sight of the batgirl once again cuddled up to his brother's plastron, "for posterity, ya know?"

"I think it's kinda cute, nya" the cat whispered back, gently putting a blanket over the two. "It's nice to know that I'm not the only one worried about Betty-chan, nya." The cat gently tucked the two in and smiled.

"Then again, it makes me a little jealous, nya"

"Ya shoudda asked, Kitten, if all ya wanted was a teddy bear," Raph joked

Yuri looked over to him, blushing. "Very hilarious, nya" she softly hissed. "Do you KNOW how many stuffed animals I have in my pad, nya?"

"I'm jus' kiddin', Kitten," Raph dropped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze that he wouldn't have in the waking company of his brothers and father.

Yuri's ears went back slightly and she let him do this, watching her brother and her best friend slightly. It felt kinda good...

"Do-...Do you think they'll be ok alone, nya" She muttered, letting a yawn sneak to her.

"Well, yer stayin' so I think they'll be OK," he suddenly picked her up and set her on the sofa, before dropping the spare blanket over her, "but I'll stay with ya ta make sure they behave" and he flopped down beside her.

Yuri chuckled and leaned on him, letting him be her pillow. "Shellshocker, nya" she muttered, letting the night get the best of her.

Raph petted her ears gently, "sweet dreams, Kitten," he muttered before dozing off himself.

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Don wasn't sure if he wanted to wake up, he was warm and comfortable; apparently he hadn't fallen asleep in front of his computer again.

It felt like a hot water bottle or something similar was against his front. He wrapped his arms more securely around the source of the warmth and nearly jumped out of his shell when it gave a soft sigh and snuggled closer.

Oh right...he was in Betty's bed...

He turtle looked around the room...what time was it? Finally the tech turtle yawned and attempted to sit up in the bed…unfortunately, this caused the batgirl to slide down his front slightly (nearing a position that almost made this fic R rated instead of PG-13)

With a slight blush he shifted her up into a sitting position along with him.

"Don't get too naughty, Donnie." A gruff voice said.

Don jumped slightly, before seeing his brother on the couch, cuddled by his sister. The tough turtle was smirking, and seemed to be confident.

"How long have you been there?" he asked in a low voice so as not to wake the sleeping batgirl.

Betty, meanwhile, made another soft noise and raised her arms to wrap around Donnie's neck.

"Long 'nuff," Raph answered, "Ya really do like her, huh?"

Donnie blushed slightly. "Do I have to get the kitty attached to yer face?" He warned.

"It's just a simple question"

"...Yeah...a bit"

"A BIT nothi- ow..." Raph winced slightly as Yuri's claws started to dig into his arm.

He gently removed them, uncertain as to whether she was asleep or warning him off.

"Well, seems she likes ya anyway," he told Don, watching the small smile on the fruit bat's lips and, in her sleep, Betty gave a satisfied sounding chirrup.

Don blushed again. "It would seem that way...What are you doing here? I thought Yuri said she was gonna talk to Mikey, then come back alone?" he stared for a while. "And why the shell is she laying on you?"

"Well, I was gonna come getcha, but you were already sleepin', then Yuri got tired an' I promised I'd make sure you an the bat didn't get up ta anythin' naughty." Raph explained, "but I guess I dozed off too."

"I see." The tech turtle yawned. He gently positioned himself to where he was facing Raph, but still had Betty in a comfortable position.

"How'd Mikey take it?"

"Eh, took awhile, Kitten hadda sing ta him an even then he kept goin' on...anyway, ya wanna explain HOW ya ended up in Miss Bat's arms and bed?" There was no malice in the tough turtle's voice for once, only genuine curiosity.

Don gave an annoyed blush. "She had a nightmare, and Yuri obviously wasn't here to soothe her, so she wanted me to stay with her," the tech turtle explained. "I've already been bitten..." He looked down to the sleeping batgirl. "Like I said...I think it's a bat thing..."

"Nightmares?" the red clad turtle looked intrigued, almost reminiscent of Donatello himself, "what's she have nightmares about? She tell ya?" he paused, "did she hurtcha when she bit ya?"

"She hinted that they were of the labs," Donatello explained. "She seemed so frightened, so scared...It's like nothing I've ever seen before..." Don looked up slightly. "...And, I'm fine...thanks for caring, Raph" He said with a slight smile.

"Man, they really did a number on 'er, huh?" Raph said, ignoring the last comment, he was the tough one after all.

Betty stirred a little. From her point of view she was warm and secure. It felt nice. It felt like...mate……and she nuzzled her cheek against Donatello's shoulder gently.

Donnie blushed once more, and patted her head slightly. He gave a soft smile...

"Does Leo know that you're here with us?"

"Yeah, he saw us leave, guess he figured we were comin' here."

Meanwhile, the bat leaned into the patting, this was nice; she liked this. Then she blinked and, half asleep, muttered "mornin' " and kissed Don on the cheek, before settling back against his front, not quite willing to get up yet.

"Warm," Betty murmured and gently slipped one of her thin hands into one of the purple clad turtle's three fingered ones.

Donnie smiled softly once again, returning the handhold. He slightly looked up towards his siblings.

"You awake, Kitten?" Raph asked, scratching the catgirl's ears.

The cat leaned into the scratch, beginning to purr. "Neko...Neko tomodachi perished, nya" she muttered. "Tomodachi, nya..."

Raph shook her shoulder slightly to wake her, "Hey, c'mon kitten, time to wake up now," he told her.

Betty blinked, a little more awake now...when had Yuri come back? And why was Raphael here? Eh...too much thinking was involved it working it all out so she just leaned back against Don...her mate?...well, she liked him better than the other potentials anyway.

Yuri's eyes slightly opened. "He's gone, nya...huh?" It took a minute...

...To realise she was in her brother's lap...

The cat quickly leaped out of the hold of her stronger brother, and looked towards her smarter brother, and her bat-friend. "...Oyhayo, gazimazu, Nekonie, nya!" She greeted Don, with a cat-like smiled.

Don gently rubbed Betty's shoulder before smiling back at his sister. "Good morning to you too."

The bat chirruped happily in greeting, leaned forward slightly and held her arms out to Yuri, wanting to hug her friend.

"Sabah alkhair," she greeted the catgirl quietly but happily. ("Good morning")

Yuri purred and walked towards her friend. "Oyhayo gazimazu, tomodachi, nya!" the cat answered, hugging the batgirl gently but tightly. "How did you sleep nya? Was Donnie-kun good to yew, nya?"

"Mm," the batgirl nodded, "I like sleepin' with Donn-ee." she didn't understand why Donatello blushed and Raph started to snigger behind his hand.

She chirruped questioningly at Yuri, "I get my English wrong again?" she asked, tilting her head.

Yuri made a slight glare over at her stronger brother, before looking back at her friend. "Iie. No, nya." she cooed. "You said it just fine, nya. Raph-kun just wants to be a furball-baka, nya" She lightly ruffled her friend's hair and then stretched.

"I have to run an errand, nya"

"Yer not runnin' off to th' labs are ya, Kitten?" Raph questioned, no way he was going to let her go there.

"Errand?" Betty questioned.

The cat shook her head slightly. "Iie, nya. Neko Tomodachi perished..." she replied to her strong brother.

"Huh...Oh!" the realisation hit Don first, "Oh I see."

The penny soon dropped for Raph too, "Oh...gotcha..."

The only one who remained confused was Betty

"I must send a wave of comfort towards the owner, nya" the cat cooed. "If I'm not back in time for breakfast, come find me, nya"

With that, the cat disappeared like lightning.

Don looked towards Betty. "Don't worry. She's not going back to the labs."

"Where she goin'? She asked in reply. Who was Yuri going to see? What owner? She looked at Don in askance.

Don paused to try and word this right. "Yuri can sense when her kitty friends are in trouble. Apparently her oldest friend must've given into life."

"She'll be back" Raph said. "She will or I'll drag her back by 'er tail"

"Oh," the batgirl nodded, she got it.

"I'm gonna make sure she comes home. I ain't gonna watch 'er, just wait," he reassured when Don gave him a look. Before he left he mouthed 'behave' at his brother and winked.

Betty chirruped at Don and said: "You hungry?"

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Leo stopped in his practice once he saw his brother re-entering the Lair

"Good Morning, Raph" he greeted slightly. "How's Don? And Betty? And why isn't Yuri with you?"

You ask too many questions, ya know that?" The tough turtle replied.

The leader shook his head slightly. "Is Betty doing ok?"

"Jus' peachy," the red clad turtle answered, "happy as a bird inna sky, she an Donnie were in bed together."

Leo didn't know whether to blush or faint...For once Raph took pity on his older brother.

"Chill, bro," he reassured, "turns out Betty'd bin havin' nightmares mosta th' night an' needed someone ta cuddle with 'er ta help 'er sleep."

Leo let off an embarrassed blush. "Oh...I guess Don would claim 'it's a bat thing'"

"Brilliant deduction, Fearless leader." Raph mocked.

The lead turtle frowned slightly. "They're ok, right?"

"Fine, like I toldja," Raph answered, "go an' check on 'em but yer not gonna find 'em doin' anythin' bad," he shrugged and headed off to work on with his punching bag for awhile.

"Where's Yuri?"

"She's doin' an errand."

"Raph..."

"Look, Leo, trust me when I say Kitten has to do this by herself, OK?" Raph answered vaguely, "She'll come back when she's ready and if she ain't back by breakfast she told me to come get 'er, al'ight?"

Leo crossed his arms before walking off for his own training.

"Oooh, ya better be careful, Raph" the playful turtle joked. "If ya keep this up, someone might think you ACTUALLY care about someone!"

"Shaddup Mikey," his brother snapped in reply, before proceeding to punch his bag hard a few times.

Mikey chuckled, before he went back to reading his comics.

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	14. Imitation of a Normal Life

_**Author's Note:**__ I was up until 2am trying to finish some work, bear with me if I've nothing clever to say (sweat-drop)_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Pretty obvious that I don't own TMNT…unless a warp in the time/space continuum happens soon? (looks around) Nope, still don't own them._

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"How did you adjust in here?" Donnie asked, examining a small hinge in the bunker. When he was growing up, he had his Sensei, his brothers, and his little sister to keep him company...but Betty? All she had was one human...This worried the tech turtle.

"'cos it's nicer than the labs," Betty answered, "I like people but...bats like places that are quiet an' dark...an' Tony come to see me lots."

The turtle turned red slightly. "Does he take good care of you?" he asked, wondering why he just asked that.

"Gives me money, an' cuddles me when I'm lonely, an' gives clothes when he can," the bat answered, carefully pouring some fruit juice into an old, clean mug before taking a big drink, "he got me outta the lab...he's like my Akh." **((A/N: 'Akh' is the Arabic word for 'brother'))**

Don processed this slightly...he had to know Japanese to communicate with his sister...but...

"Oh! I see!" the turtle replied. "I'm glad to hear that someone else takes care of you too."

Betty nodded, "you want juice?" she offered the carton to him shyly. She remembered what Yuri'd told her about humans and humanoids not rushing straight into being mates, so was willing to build up to it.

Don smiled. "Why not?" he smiled. "It's about time I started drinking something other than soda and water"

With that much said, the turtle poured himself a glass and took a sip...

"Hey, it's really good!"

Again, the bat nodded, "s'like eating lotsa fruit, nearly as good as fresh fruit," she paused, "what's soda?"

"Oh, it's a drink that most humans drink. It's a great accompanist to pizza, and junk."

Smooth Don, real smooth...

"Uhm...it's basically a drink that fizzes. It's good, but not exactly that healthy"

"Oh...you take me to try it soon, yes?" the bat chirruped hopefully, she was always open to new experiences, right now it meant she could have 5 minutes alone with her (still potential, not confirmed) mate.

"Sure. Breakfast is soon, and every one except Sensei and Yuri has soda to accompany their meal." Don smiled. "Don't worry. We're not having pizza for breakfast" he chuckled.

"Pizza's okies," betty told him, "but cricket's are better."

"You really like those things, huh?"

"S'good," she told him, "...I think Yuri ate my box of them in lemon and sesame seed sauce though..."

Don snickered. "She did wha? Maybe she thought it was chicken or something."

"They're good for you...whole shops in China Town for it...yummies," she took another drink from her mug then ran her tongue around her mouth, making sure she hadn't splashed any.

The sight of that tongue was giving Don thoughts that made him blush...thinking about kissing her...he stopped thinking along those lines.

Don cleared his throat slightly, before smiling at the bat. "If you want, you can pack something of yours and have breakfast with us." he offered. "While we wait, I'll let you play a game I designed. Only Yuri's beat it so far. Mikey can't even make the high scores." he chuckled.

"New game?" Betty's brown eyes lit up in delight, she was getting to like video games, even if most of them were too easy, "Okies!" she chirruped and headed to her fridge to find some food she could take to the Lair.

"That sweater looks really pretty on you, Betty," the turtle blurted out, before he could stop himself.

The bat was wearing the rainbow sweater Tony had bought for her again.

"Thankies," she answered softly, a small blush staining her cheeks before she quickly returned her attention to choosing some fruit to take for breakfast.

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Meanwhile, Yuri still wasn't back and Raph had decided it was time to go and fetch her.

"Exactly why are we playing fetch the cat, Raph?" Mikey asked. "Don'tcha know she's just gonna complain to us that she's not a kitten anymore?"

"Can it, Mikey, she told me to come get 'er if she wasn't back by breakfast, it's nearly that now, so, I gotta get 'er, ya can go home if ya want."

"Hey, us tortuga's gotta stick together, bro."

It didn't take long to find Yuri; she had barely climbed down a manhole, and had fallen, so now she was wet.

"Aww...I hate water, nya..." she muttered.

"I woulda brought ya towel if I'd known ya wanted ta go swimmin', Kitten," Raph's voice chuckled lightly, before he and Mikey come into view.

"Hey, sis," Mikey waved.

Yuri's ears perked slightly. "Konichi'wa, nya" she greeted, getting up. "I'm guessing I'm late then, nya? It was a hard one to talk to, nya"

"It couldn't have been that bad, Yuri" Mikey said, giving her a noogie.

The cat mewed. "Not really, but it was worth it, nya"

"C'mon, we gotta go eat an' ya gotta get dry before breakfast, Kitten," Raph gave Yuri a gentle shove so that she was walking ahead of them.

Yuri giggled, before running off, Mikey in hot pursuit.

Raph shook his head and followed at a slower pace.

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Betty had put together a small freezer bag of fruit she wanted to eat for breakfast by now.

"Okies," she told Don, "we go now?"

Don nodded. "If you're ready." he said. Slowly he slipped his hand into hers and smiled. "After you, M'lady" He coaxed.

This earned him a small laugh, a kiss on the cheek and quiet "thankies from the batgirl and she headed past him out the door.

"You lead," she told him.

Don blushed, and led the way, softly and protectively draping an arm around the bat as they walked.

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Yuri kicked at Raph, as everyone waited for Don and Betty. MAN! This guy was tough...

"Hold...still...nya!" Yuri muttered, trying to punch her brother.

"If I hold still 'at kinda defeats the purpose of the exercise, dunnit?" Raph answered, dodging another punch.

A soft, questioning chirrup caught everyone's attention though

Yuri looked over, noticing Betty. Instantly the cat's ears perked. "Konichi'wa Betty-chan!!" she greeted, ducking down to doge a kick thrown by Raph.

"Hi," the batgirl chirruped, tilting her head to watch the display, she'd never seen them train though she knew Tony took Tai Chi...

Yuri flipped over the tough turtle and quickly slide kicked him. She turned to Betty. "Are you hungry, nya?" she asked, momentarily losing interest in her brother.

"I brought my own food," the bat said and held up her small back of fruit, (Don, by the way, had forgotten to remove his arm from her shoulders, so she was feeling cheerful)

Mikey started to snicker, before Leo pulled on his youngest brother's mask strings.

Yuri smiled. "Good, nya! Make yourself at home, nya" then finally noticed she was now in a stranglehold...

"Oh slag, nya..."

"Shoudda been payin' attention, Kitten," Raph whispered

Yuri's ears went back slightly. Raph was the strongest...Raph was the meanest...Raph was the harshest...Raph...felt kind of...

He suddenly let her go. "C'mon, we gotta eat," he said gruffly, "I'm hungry."

Yuri turned slightly..."Raph-kun?"

She suddenly shook her head as Mikey ran to the kitchen in high speed. "BETTY'S FIRST, NYA!" The cat yelled, running after her youngest big brother.

Betty covered her ears at her friend's shout, mindful of what Tony'd told her, trying to keep noise to a minimum so her ears didn't bleed again, but she dutifully followed Yuri to the kitchen, feeling a little regretful when Don dropped his arm from her shoulders.

"Whatcha brought, dudette?" Mikey asked, looking at her bag, "ya brought more bugs?"

"Fruit," the bat corrected, and took the plate Yuri offered her, setting out her food on it. Slices of peaches, apples, a few banana chunks and some dried apricots. "Yummies" she told him happily.

Yuri giggled and patted the bat's shoulder. "Arigato for dinner, by the way, nya. I didn't know you liked chicken, nya"

"What chicken? I don't eat chicken, don't like it."

Yuri looked puzzled, as she finished handing plates to her family. "Then...what was that that I ate last night, nya? It wasn't chicken, nya?"

"...Crickets in lemon and sesame sauce with rice," the bat answered softly, "from China Town."

Yuri paused, before she blushed a bright red. and was on the floor in less than a second.

"Eep! Yuri!" Betty was soon kneeling next to her, "you okies?...Yuri?"

Yuri's ear twitched, but she didn't open her eyes.

_Yuri...you're a baka, nya..._

"Hey, Yuri? You ok?" Leo asked, kneeling by the two girls.

The bat chirruped questioningly. She didn't know what the fuss was. Lots of humans bought that particular meal from that shop in China Town. There were _humans_ who actually ate bugs as part of their diet. **((A/N: 100 percent true, I kid you not!))**

But she hugged Yuri tightly anyway.

Yuri slightly opened her eyes and sighed. "Arigato, nya" she said softly. "I...enjoyed it, nya"

Leo tilted his head at the two...before he helped his sister up, and offered a hand to the bat.

Betty chirruped, "I'll get 2 next time."

Yuri blushed and bowed. "Arigato, nya"

Leo gently set a hand on the cat's shoulder. "Yuri, let's not keep your guest waiting." he said lowly.

"Oh yeah, nya!" The cat smiled. "Bon appetite, nya!"

The bat laughed, "Thankies."

Casually, she took the seat next to Don and tucked into her fruit, somehow she sensed that Mikey was going to make another comment or snicker and promptly gave him a sharp kick to the shin.

"YEOW!!! What was that for?!" Mikey whined, suddenly leaning down to hold his shin.

"For being a shell-head, nya" Yuri cooed, taking her place between Leo and Raph.

"Betty-san. I trust your night was peaceful?" The rat asked, before slightly sipping on his tea.

She nodded in reply, "most of it...bad dreams but I had Yuri n Donnie to help me sleep okies,"

r

The Rat smiled in satisfaction.

Yuri paused from eating her eggs and sausage. "Did anyone contact April-chan to tell her everything was ok, nya?"

"...We'll do that after breakfast," Leo announced.

For once, there were no arguments from his siblings. The cat, however, gave her big brother a playful, harmless kick from under the table, then looked over to Betty and smiled gleefully.

Jokingly, the bat stuck her tongue out at the cat (unlike Mikey, she didn't pull the 'see-food' joke) then she chirruped happily as she bit into a slice of peach and sucked to juice out.

Mikey got a little nervous at the sight of her fangs...if that was how quickly she drained fruit, what if she decided she liked the taste of blood after all?

"Donnie," the bat asked softly, "I can try soda now?"

Don snapped his fingers. "Oh that's right! Of course you-"

"What kind wouldcha like, nya?" Yuri asked, quickly getting up. "There's Coke, and Diet Coke, and Cherry Coke, Mt. Dew, Pepsi, Wild cherry Pepsi...we got it all, basically, nya"

Mikey snickered slightly.

Betty's big brown eyes became wider...there was more than one sort of soda? She tugged Don's arm and whispered to him to choose one for her pleasies?

He chuckled and looked towards his sister. "Just choose one, Yuri. The world's not gonna end."

Yuri snapped her fingers. "One cherry coke comin' up, nya" she purred, happily prancing for the kitchen.

The bat waited patiently, cherries were fruit, right? What was "Coke" though?

"I'm taking it that either Don or Yuri told you about this?" Leo asked, noting the bat's confused expression.

"Donnie," she answered quietly, "when he drank my fruit juice," she didn't know why, but she just didn't feel as comfortable around Leo, he put her in mind of an elastic band...stretched almost to breaking point, and on the verge of snapping, and then whoever was nearest would lose an eye.

"Back, nya!" Yuri cheered, happily. She set a small opened can in front of Betty and smiled. "Hope ya like, nya. It's my favourite, nya."

That much said, the cat re-sat her self by her two oldest brothers and watched the bat happily.

"Thankies," came the answer as Betty cautiously lifted the can and took a small drink.

Not expecting the bubbles she almost dropped the can as she choked when they went up the back of her nose.

"Whoa, easy," Don obligingly patted her back a few times.

Yuri stood up slightly, worried. She knew how much that hurt...but after a while it would fade away. "Betty-chan? Donde ayu, nya?" she cooed, making sure the bat was ok.

After a few more seconds, the batgirl stopped choking and managed to breathe more easily.

"You _drink_ this for _fun_?" she asked in disbelief, why would people subject themselves to that kind of treatment just to rehydrate themselves? The roof of her mouth was burning a little still.

"Um...We drink it slowly, nya." the cat replied, before she paused. "Well...I do anyways, nya" The cat gave an accusing glance over at her orange clad brother, who whistled innocently.

The cat looked back at Betty. "It gets better, once you get used to it, nya. If not, I did buy some peach juice, nya"

"N-no, s'okies," the bat said slowly, not wanting a repeat of yesterday's comments about being treated special. She just wanted to eat her breakfast.

"Yer sure?" Mikey asked, for once being level headed, he got a nod in reply and then Betty turned her attention back to the fruit on her plate.

Yuri finally sat back down and looked back to the eggs on her plate...Her nose twitched slightly. She wanted to know...it could wait...she didn't want to make Betty feel anymore uncomfortable as it was. And yet still...she wanted to find out...

Don looked back to his food, also not wanting to make the bat nervous. Slowly he started to go back to the eggs on his plate...Then someone started tapping his foot with their own...given the feeling of thin rubber soles, he guessed it was Betty. But when he glanced her way to see what she wanted she was still staring intently at her plate, eating her food, so decided that she merely wanted comfort...and softly nudged her foot back. At least this way, no one would make any smart comments.

Yuri suddenly put her fork down and looked over to Master Splinter. "May I be excused, nya?"

"

Yuri- you have a guest-"

"I'll fight Leo-kun if I may, nya" The cat quickly answered.

Betty chirruped questioningly. What was it with this family and fighting? She continued to surreptitiously gently nudge and pat the purple clad turtle's foot with her own though. Heh, human style flirting was funny.

The rat paused, and then nodded, resulting in the cat's happily leaving towards her pad.

Don gently slid his toe down the bat's ankle, to give her a slight tickle. When she jumped, he chuckled.

The bat managed to pass off a pleased grin as enjoyment by putting an apricot in her mouth. Tickling? Two could play...she returned in kind, gently kicking off her right shoe and using her bare toes to tickle him back. (She never wore socks, didn't need them)

Don slightly jumped, letting off a small "eep!" before his foot retreated towards the other foot.

Mikey, was having fun watching, but kept in mind if he made a smart comment, he'd have one very ticked family at him.

Betty just sat still; she was enjoying this, but was also eating her breakfast innocently as if nothing was happening.

"Why fight?" she asked Splinter, with a small head tilt. It took a minute for the rat to realise that Betty was talking about Yuri's challenge.

"My children are all ninjas, so they must train with each other to become stronger. My daughter was challenging Leonardo in only a training match, is all, young bat. They will not harm each other."

"Yeah, Yuri couldn't hurt a mouse even if she tried." Mikey giggled.

Betty frowned lightly; she didn't get it, so just figured it was a territorial thing, besides, she was enjoying this flirting going on between her and Don out of sight.

"Donnie," she said calmly, "show me your new game now, pleasies?"

"Certainly." Don said, getting up and bowing towards Splinter. When he nodded, Don escorted Betty out of the room.

"This game is more of a strategy and memory game. It's sorta like a Mario game...only I tweaked it to make the characters look like us, and have other ninjas as enemies." Don said, hooking up the game. Once the screen flashed on, it had the options Fun, Logical, Fast, Hard, or Master players on.

To his amazement she chose "Master"

"Uh...Betty are you sure...?" even with her past record, Master would probably be too hard, but she clicked the "start" button before he could protest.

The bat stared at the opening screen, taking in all the information, including the game rules (something that his brothers normally skipped over) then took up her usual game playing position - legs crossed, eyes focused on the screen, tongue between her teeth in concentration.

A few minutes later she had to admit, this was more fun than the shoot 'em ups and beat 'em ups she'd played the last few times, but it didn't seem that difficult...

Don watched the screen. She was whizzing through the game like it was a mere plush toy! Don bit his lip. If she beat this game...He wouldn't know what to give her next...

15 minutes later she'd completed it.

Well, now he didn't know what games to give her.

"That was fun!" Betty announced, brown eyes sparkling at him. That was high praise considering she'd found the other games boring.

"Th-thanks" Don said, blushing. "...Now I have to invent a sequel..."

"Whoa, nya..."

"Yuri!" the batgirl chirruped happily at her friend, "yu played this?" and indicated the game screen.

Yuri blushed. "Um, yeah, nya" she cooed. "I hold-...held the high record" With that much said, she giggled slightly. She had something tucked in her arm, well hidden.

"Oh...sorry," Betty lamented, she hadn't meant to hurt anyone's pride, she tilted her head curiously, "What you got?" she asked.

Yuri took out a soft cat plushie. "I bought this fer yew, nya," she purred. "If you squeeze it, it mews, nya."

Gently the batgirl took the plushie, she squeezed it gently then giggled when it mewed, "Thankies Yuri," she said, giving it a hug. "I'll call it 'Fuzz'" then she nuzzled the toys fur. It reminded her almost of her mother's…Almost.

It struck both Don and Yuri that, compared to Betty; their upbringing had been exceedingly privileged. With this in mind, Yuri gave Don a soft hug of appreciation.

"Betty-chan, do you like music, nya?"

"Smooth jazz n classic rock...60's rock, y'know?" Betty answered, keeping the plush toy against her cheek, "why?"

Yuri smiled, and looked to Don. "May I use your computer, please, Nekonie, Nya?"

"Sure, go ahead," the brainy turtle answered, watching Betty continue to nuzzle the toy ecstatically.

Yuri stared at her brother for a second, before looking towards Betty. "...Arigato, nya..."The cat smiled slightly. "c'mon' Betty-chan, nya" she cooed, walking off.

The bat made a soft noise that sounded like "aww" but followed her friend, "Fuzz" held tightly in her arms.

Don watched the two girls head for the computer, before he picked up the game and looked it over. "I thought this one would be more difficult..."

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Yuri sat down in Don's chair and logged on, soon getting up to let Betty sit down. "Mikey-kun and I made this music video together, nya. It's aimed to make people laugh, nya" the cat cooed.

"Video?" the bat chirruped, "show me?"

The cat complied by pressing a few keys on the board, and then pressing play. She stood by and watched the bat, who giggled after a few minutes of watching.

"Silly." she tittered

"OHH! I made a funny one of my Brothers done to the DDR music "Butterfly", Nya" The cat said, handing the bat earphones. "If Raph-kun or Leo-kun found out, they'd kill me, nya" she giggled, setting the computer.

The bat and the cat spent the next 20 minutes giggling like crazy at the silly videos that'd been taken. Neither could really remember the last time they'd enjoyed themselves so much, though Betty put going to the movies with Tony as a close second.

Yuri giggled and ruffled the bat's hair. "You won't tell my brothers, will you, nya?

"'bout what?" Betty answered innocently and winked at the cat playfully.

Yuri giggled once again.

"So...you like Don-kun, huh?" she whispered. "He likes ya too. Yer so lucky, nya"

Betty blushed and looked down. "Like him more than the others," she mumbled shyly

"Aww, you like him more than me too?" the cat teased, giggling.

"Different'" the bat answered, hiding her face in her stuffed cat's fur, "you're my friend, notta potential mate. It's…just…different"

The cat put a hand on the bat's shoulder. "I was playing, nya." she cooed. "Maybe I can arrange something, nya," she cast a look towards the exit that the bat didn't see. "I have to do another errand tonight, nya. You and Donnie-kun could probably watch a movie together, nya" the cat said. "I have the perfect one, nya"

"What movie?" Betty asked curiously, she liked most movies, except the violent action/horror ones.

"Ever heard of the Loin King, nya?"

The bat shook her head. She'd never heard of it.

"I've only seen te' things Tony has on DVD...and...Shrek 3."

Yuri smiled. "Well then, I'll arrange a movie night, nya" she cooed.

"Okies," Betty answered softly and hugged Fuzz tightly against her front.

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_**Author's note:**__ Sorry if this is tedious and I have no excuses if it's a boring. Wanted to show that "hey, we've a bunch of teenagers here, they do vaguely teenager-ish things" Next one will be better, hopefully. )_


	15. Nightwatcher on a Movie Night

_**Author's Note:**__ You lucky people, I'm having a "two for one" with the chapters. Depending on when I get home from Uni I might make it three._

_**Disclaimer:**__ TMNT are the slaves of Mirage Studio's, I just like playing with them,_

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Don was still trying to work out how Betty'd beaten his game, even Mikey couldn't beat all the levels and he usually spent hours playing games.

"Don-kun?"

The brainy turtle turned his head, "Yeah, Yuri?" he asked.

"If you're not to busy trying to impress Betty-chan, I've arranged a movie be watched, nya" The cat said.

"A movie? Why?" The tech turtle asked.

Yuri smiled. "First off, because I KNOW you wanna spend sometime with her, nya. Second, we haven't done anything as a group since...well...since June, nya" She grinned. "Don't worry. It's ONLY the Lion King, nya"

"Why the Lion King?" he asked, he personally thought it was a so-so movie, he liked movies like "Tron" and "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes."

"Because it's my turn to pick, nya. You can choose something else for the double feature, nya" She cooed.

"Fair enough," he agreed and mused. The Lion King was a pretty sad movie...damn, when had his sister become so crafty he wondered.

"Oh by the way, nya? Arushitaru, nya!" the cat giggled, before running off to tell her other brothers.

Yuri had managed to convince Leo & Splinter pretty good...and Mikey had jumped at the chance eagerly.

...but Raph...

"C'mon, nya...I swear there will be a 'better' movie after mine and Betty's nya" she pleaded with her strongest brother. "Must I beg, nya?"

"Define 'better', Kitten," Raph grouched

Yuri started to make soft, heart melting kitty eyes at the tough turtle.

"Would you rather have Mikey-kun in charge of what we watch, nya?"

"...I'll go with whatever Donnie picks out," he said finally, "ya drive a hard bargain, Kitten." Raph messed her hair gently.

The cat giggled and hugged the turtle's neck. "Arigato, Watashi Aru, nya!" she mewed, before looking towards Betty on the other side of the lair, and winking.

The bat chirruped cutely in reply before turning her attention back to Don's computer. She was getting frustrated with it...it was so...slow! How could anyone work on it?

Once again, something in her mind went "click" and she found and opened the .dos programme, then began rapidly changing 1's to 0's and vice versa, updating, upgrading, changing, making it better, faster. Thin fingers tapping furiously over the number pad...then it was done and she chirruped happily.

"What exactly are ya doin' Batty?" Mikey asked, for once being friendly, and not teasing.

"Upgrading th' computer." she answered, pleasantly

"Upgrade? You know about tech?" the orange clad turtle asked. "I thought Donny was the only one who could do all that tech mumbo jumbo stuff..."

"Jus...makes sense sometimes," the bat admitted, "when I'm bored, tired or frustrated"

"Wow!...You know something?...You're pretty smart!...ya know...for a girl" Mikey gave a friendly punch on the bat's shoulder, not hurting her, just being...well...Mikey.

Betty stuck her tongue out at him, playfully. "Thankies...you shell-head."

"Hey! You've been hangin around with kitty-cat too long!" Mikey teased.

"Well, if the shell fits, Mikey..." Don said, walking over, holding the two movies of choice. "Is he buggin you Betty?"

"S'okies, jus' talkin'," the bat answered.

"Yeah, Donnie," Mikey winked at his brother, "no need ta get so protective"

"What movies you got, Donnie?" Betty cut across him before Mikey could add anymore.

The tech turtle held the movies out. "Yuri wanted to see the Lion King, and I chose Tron. She said that she wants you to pick out which one should be played first."

"Ooh! If that's the case, I'll make the popcorn!" Mikey said, rushing towards the kitchen.

Don smiled at Betty once more. "Is that okay?" he asked in a soft voice.

She nodded gently..."Wanna see Tron first," she told him, making sure that she had Fuzz neatly tucked under one arm.

She looked cute.

Don smiled and gently padded her head. "Tron it is, then" He said, holding out a hand. "After you, m'lady"

"Can call me 'Betty', Donnie," she told him softly.

Don blushed slightly. "Oh-...Oh of course, Betty." he said as he helped her up. Gently smiling, he held her hand as they headed towards the couch.

The bat made a soft sound, a combination of chirruping and purring at him, and gave his hand a soft squeeze back.

Don let Betty sit first, before he plopped down beside her. His brothers were finding places of their own, and Leo was the one who ended up having to pop the DVD in. Mikey was already stuffing his mouth with popcorn, and Splinter was sipping some tea.

Although...Mikey did attempt to throw a handful of popcorn in Raph's face.

"Cut it out!"

"Don't ruin the movie before its even begun guys," Leo said wearily, he just wanted a quiet night for once.

"Aw, c'mon' Leo" Mikey giggled. "You know he deserves it!"

Don sighed, before he draped an arm around the bat. "I hope you like it." he said, beginning to gently pet her hair.

All he got in response was the same soft chirrup/purr combination and the batgirl cuddling up to his side contentedly.

Betty, by now, had pretty much decided that Don was the one she wanted as a mate. He was nice, made a good cuddling place and he was quiet and didn't scare her.

Don gently patted Betty's arm as she did this, hesitantly resting his head on hers.

Leo was currently in the process of covering Mikey's mouth, as the fun turtle began to snigger. Master splinter was trying to concentrate on the movie, and Raph was watching Yuri.

The cat's eyes were on her brother and her new best friend as they cuddled contentedly. She couldn't help but wonder...was love for everyone? And if so...Oh man, did Betty choose the right one?

Yuri couldn't help but want to protect the young bat, as though she were her younger sister...

"Give ya an anchovy for yer thoughts, Kitten," Raph's voice suddenly cut gently across her thoughts.

"Betty-chan's lucky in her own way, nya" the cat replied. "I know she went through some hard times, nya, Which is why I seek to protect her, nya... but now she's got great friends, nya...and...well...she's so lucky, nya"

"And?" the red clad turtle probed gently, "what makes 'er luckier than you?"

Yuri looked towards the tougher turtle and gave off a slight blush.

"N-Nothing, nya." She lied. "She's cute, and friendly, and pure, and innocent, and she has-..."

"Hey, don't make me tickle it outta ya, Kitten," Raph warned

"Mphh...Now I WISH I was on the Nightwatcher's bad side, so he could throw me off Lady Liberty, nya" the cat muttered. "Look, tonight's Betty-chan's and Don-kun's night okay, nya? I want them to be happy, nya"

"That bad, huh?" Raph said, and then lifted Yuri effortlessly onto the arm of the sofa beside him, "watch the movie, Kitten an' stop broodin'" he said

Betty was staring at the screen but not really seeing it, truthfully, she was more or less asleep with her eyes open.

Yuri started to blush...before she unintentionally set her head on his shoulder, eyes fixed on the screen, and ears flat against her head.

Raphael didn't push her off, there wasn't a point; she wasn't brooding now at any rate. And secretly, he didn't mind her being there.

Don was watching the screen, his hand gently rubbing the batgirl's arm up and down. Secretly, he was wishing this were a private movie so he could spend this time with Betty alone.

Betty made her own soft purring noise; she liked this. Liked this a lot. Though she wondered if she could get Don to take her to the movie theatre soon.

Don smiled slightly, and continued to watch the movie...before he too realised he was beginning to drift off...The batgirl had beaten him to it.

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"Hey, check it out," Mikey said, pointing towards the sleeping bat and turtle, "guess the movie was just that exciting."

Splinter looked over and chuckled slightly. "Innocence is the heart of the world, Michelangelo"

Leo gave a slight glance over, before smiling. "Leave them alone Mikey. You seriously don't want Yuri to walk up and down your shell again, do you?"

"Nah thanks, I've enough boot marks on there to last a life time," Mikey answered and settled back down to watch the movie again

Yuri was currently trying to find a way to stop blushing

The movie progressed and soon ended, then a small argument broke out over who'd change the disc over. (Leo again) though Mikey wondered aloud if there was much point since Don and Betty were sleeping.

Raph stood up. "Guys, just get on with it...I'm taken' a nap." he muttered.

Yuri's ears perked. If everyone was going to agree to that...that would give her...a chance.

"I still have an errand to run, nya" the cat cooed, quickly getting up. "Maybe we can finish this as a family, later, nya"

"Yeah, I think Don and Betty have pretty much skipped the prelude and gone to the main event." Mikey pointed out

"Let them sleep, we shall continue this another time" Splinter declared

As her family argued, the cat quickly and quietly snuck out of the lair...

"Yes, Master Splinter." Leo said, with a slight bow.

"Aww lookit them...so cute...where's the camera?" Mikey asked.

"Leave them alone, Mikey." Leo said, gently grabbing Mikey's mask strings and dragging him towards his room.

"Aww, but I wanna preserve this moment!" Mikey protested, even as he was dragged out of the living room.

Splinter shook his head, gave a soft smile at Donatello and Betty and gently dropped a spare blanket over them.

The bat, in her sleep, cuddled closer to her chosen mate. Donatello, in return, also in sleep, unknowingly kissed one of the bat's ears in response.

She chirruped gently, a small smile on her mouth.

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Meanwhile... Yuri quickly ran through the streets, hoping that metallic smell she had caught wasn't...Him.

"If I find out that Nekosanie is following me, then I'm going to badly freak out, nya"

It was a typical New York night, i.e. lots of lights and noise...and thugs picking on the innocent.

The cat was more concerned about getting to her destination quickly, rather than the dangers, or even the shadows of the night.

Somewhere below, a woman screamed as a gang of thugs tried to steal her purse

Yuri stopped on her roof, and looked behind...

_If I stop...Nekosanie might find me, nya..._

_...But...I must keep my pure heart, nya..._

With that much in mind, the cat jumped down and slide kicked one of the thugs, catching the purse in mid-air.

"Didn't yer Mother tell you it's not right to pick on the innocent, nya?"

"Well, well," one of the thugs took his attention off their victim, "hey there pretty kitty,"

Yuri crouched down slightly to get a good look at her enemies, and her ears went back slightly.

Heavy boots landed behind them.

"Yer momma never tell ya it ain't nice to pick on girls, scum?" a heavily armoured individual asked, voice muffled by the helmet he wore

"The Nightwatcher!!" One of the more skinny thugs panicked, backing away. "I told'ja this was a bad idea, boss!"

Yuri gasped and took a step back. Slag! How dose he do that, nya?!

The cat quickly backed the woman away and handed her the purse. "Run, nya. Get somewhere safe, nya!" she ordered, eyes fixed on the group.

"Aw," Nightwatcher stated dispassionately, "where ya runnin to guys? The party's just started."

"It was his idea!" the shakey one yelled, pointing towards the leader.

The leader was currently trying to wipe out his gun. Before he could even draw it, the chains has wrapped around it and flung it away.

"Now that ain't nice, fellars," the NightWatcher said, "Looks like I'll hafta teach ya some manners,"

In a blink, the two thugs were roped, chained and hanging from a street light with their mouths duct taped

Once Yuri saw the thugs chained up and suspended, she turned heal and fled before the armoured vigilante could even turn around.

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Raph watched her go and shook his helmeted head. With any luck, Kitten was heading back home where it was safe.

Just to be certain, he followed her.

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Yuri kept looking back...Nekosanie scared her...No matter how good he was.

Sure she would make sure that he was okay when she saw him fight, and it was easy to tell that he was a good guy...

Yuri cleared her thoughts as she approched central. Her ears perked slightly. Maybe I can lose him in here before I get to my destination, nya...she thought.

Too bad Kitten had never really mastered blending in, Raph thought, or rather, lucky for him, it made her easy to track.

Hmm...this wasn't the way home...where was she going?

Yuri's nose twitched. The smell of metal...The Nightwatcher was following her...again. Her ears went back as the cat desperately tried to pick a direction to lose him.

Cat and mouse, the leather clad **((the author falls off her chair laughing))** turtle thought, following her easily.

Yuri could still smell the metal...

Finally she stopped, turned around, and hurled two throwing stars into a nearby tree.

"Now that ain't nice,"

The Nightwatcher stepped out into the open and casually leaned against said tree

Every time he said that to someone...uselay ment he was about to kick their butts. He was as strong as Raph or Leo...that much Yuri had observed already...and those two could easily rip her apart if they wanted to...

The cat took a step back. She and the Nightwatcher had never exchanged words...I guess there's a first for everything.

"W-..Why do you stalk me, nya?" she whispered, slowly reaching in for more throwing stars.

Yuri swirled around and her soft ears went flat against her head...

"Makin' sure ya don't get hurt," he answered simply

Yuri noticably blushed, before taking her gloved hands out of her pockets...no stars.

"Surely there are other innocence more valuable than I, nya" the cat whispered, "I'm not worth much, nya."

"Yer worth more than ya think," he muttered back, "so..where ya headed, kit..ty cat?"

Yuri blushed again...EVERYONE had a nickname for her except Master Splinter and Betty!

"I-...I'm trying to help a friend, nya. I wanna find out if there's anything I can do to help her, nya"

"Whatcha gonna do?" he asked, sounding disinterested, "what she need?"

"...I have to make sure she's never harmed again, nya!" With that, the cat turned heel and ran at top speed.

But he soon caught her up.

"Hold it there," he announced, lifting her up a few inches off the ground, "Whatcha plannin?"

Yuri swung her feet repeatedly, before she looked up at the masked knight with tear filled eyes. "They have to pay, nya" she muttered. "I don't wanna fight you, Nekosanie..."

"Makes two of us, now tell me what makes ya think ya can take on whoever it is all by yerself?"

"Huh?" the cat looked at the Nightwatcher's visor with surpized eyes. "I'm not that weak, nya...but..." she looked down. "You do have a point, nya..."

"And if ya got hurt yer friend'd probably miss ya, ya thought 'bout that?"

"That makes one, nya" The cat muttered.

"An yer family," Nightwatcher continued, "ya thought 'bout them? They even know where ya are?"

"I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THEM, NYA!!" The cat exploded. "I worry about them everyday, nya, and I love them dearly, nya! But the only time i'm even noticed is if I'm physically hurt, like Two mounths ago, nya! That's why I'm trying hard to protect my new friend! It's been forever since i've been wanted while in full health, nya!"

The cat panted slightly, then sagged in the vigulante's grip. "I'm just a kitten with a leash on with a hopeless love, nya. I've got to do something pure for a change, nya"

Inside the outfit, Raph was stunned. Hell, Kitten never told any of them that she felt ignored..."Ya told 'em how ya feel? Ya told anyone?"

"Actually, yes, as a matter of fact, nya" the cat moaned. "I tried telling all four of my brothers...but you know what they did, nya?"

The cat looked up with burning eyes. "They didn't even hear me, nya. So please, put me down, and let me protect my Betty-chan, by getting rid of the evil that's right under everyone's nose, nya"

Huh...When had kitten told them? He didn't remember...dammit!

"Go home, Kitty Cat," he told her firmly, "Go hang out with ya friend an' have a girly night. Ya can take on whoever it is another time."

Yuri frowned...

Once she was set down, she quickly started running, using her cat speed. "Slag...next thing I know, he's gonna use that stupid motorcycle of his, nya" the cat muttered, running as fast as she could.

All she could think about was Betty...how scared she had been...how abused, and demanding...Whoever hurt that bat was going to pay, TONIGHT!!

And then the chains wrapped around her pulled and gently deposited her on the seat of the parked vehicle.

"Now see, I thought I toldja to go home...I might be wrong but ya don't look like someone who lives in the 'business' sidea town."

Yuri's ears went back, what an insult!

"What's that supposed to mean, nya?! I'm the cleanest of my siblings, nya! EXPECLY cleaner than Mikey-kun, nya!" Yuri's eyes quickly shut, and her ears went back as the Nightwatcher started to reach for her.

_He's gonna hit me, He's gonna hit me, He's gonna hit me, He's gonna hit me_…so she was surprised when he ruffled between her ears.

"Ya got courage, I'll give ya that," he said, "but I think ya should go home, kitty cat. Talk to yer bros and spend time with yer friend, THEN ya can take on whoever it is yer after."

Yuri sighed and nodded, glancing down at the chains that held her. What more could she do? She could out run her brothers...but she couldn't outrun the Nightwatcher...

"I'm gonna untie ya," Nightwatcher told her, "an' yer gonna head home, got it? Or I'll follow ya again an' this time I'll take ya home myself."

"HA!" The cat looked away. "I know you know witch manhole I go under, but how could you POSSIBLY know where I live, nya?!"

The cat sighed and nodded. "Cat's honor...I won't run, nya"

"Right," carefully he untied her, "now go home, kitty cat, before yer friend and family worry 'boutcha."

Shell, he was worried about her heading home by herself, but he wasn't going to tell her that...not like this.

The cat sighed and slightly bowed. "Arigato, Nekosanie, nya" she whispered.

That much said, she started to walk off...before looking back...

He was...not visible, but she could still smell him.

With a sigh of inevitability, she headed home...and found herself tackled by an ecstatic fruit bat when she got back.

"Yuri!" Betty chirruped and proceeded to huggle and nuzzle her friend

"Betty-chan!" Yuri mewed, before returning the favour towards her new best friend. "It's 3 in the morning, nya. What are you doing up, nya?"

"Bat," the batgirl reminded her, pointing to herself

Oh...that was right; bats were nocturnal.

The cat giggled slightly, before she hugged the bat again. "Did you enjoy yer time with Tech-shell-kun?" she softly teased.

Betty blushed a little and nodded "Yes...nice cuddle," she answered after a few seconds, and then licked a dark speck off her lips gently, before she pulled a face at the taste.

Yuri smiled softly, before pulling the bat into another hug.

"Remind me to never tick my Nekosanie off again, nya"

"Neko-?" the bat questioned, she didn't understand what Yuri was talking about. Who now?

On the sofa Don yawned and turned, making a soft "ow" of pain when he turned his head.

Yuri smiled. "Nekosanie, is my cat language for 'Dark Prince', nya. Like Nekonie is cat for 'brother' and Nekona is 'sister'...sometimes I'll spout it off...Gomenusai."

"Oh," the bat nodded, then..."Movie, yu n me?" she asked hopefully.

Yuri smiled and nodded. "Hai! What do you wanna watch, nya?...and...Where's Raph-kun, nya?"

"Sleepin I think," Betty answered, and then she thought about what movie she liked. "You got the old Dracula movies?" she asked, because she loved them they were so funny!

Yuri noticeably paled...but then forced a grin. "Sure. Anything you want, nya"

The bat tilted her head, "you don't hafta…what comedies you got?" she was willing to watch something else if the horror movies upset her friend that much.

"...Ever heard of the three stooges, nya?"

Betty shook her head...though she vaguely thought about Mikey, Raph and Leo in that context, which made her snicker.

The cat grinned as she uncovered a whole season of DVDs titled "The three stooges"

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By the time the turtles woke up around 6 or 7, the two girls were filling the lair with laughter.

"Man," Mikey said rubbing his eyes, "what time do ya call this? How long have you two been up?"

"We're nocturnal animals," Betty giggled, "we don't sleep when you do."

"Well...you're half right," Donnie muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Bats are fully nocturnal, whiles cats sleep whenever they want."

Yuri giggled. "You'd be surprised how much I don't sleep, nya"

Don looked over to Betty. "Did you enjoy last night?"

"Mm hmm," the bat replied happily, and gave her lower lip a quick lick with the tip of her tongue.

Don stretched...ouch! Man, he must have slept funny last night; his neck was killing him!

Only Yuri noticed the small dark bruise on the side of her brainy brother's neck...

"Donnie-kun...are you allright, nya?" The cat cooed. "You're hurt, nya"

"Uh, what?" he asked, confused. "oh nah...it's fine Yuri, just slept funny."

Betty, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on the floor beside Yuri, cuddling her stuffed cat and looking exceedingly pleased with herself, she was even purring lightly.

"Oh...Gomenusai,nya..."

The cat looked from her brother, towards the bat, who smiled at her happily, looking for the entire world like a cat that'd just got the cream, the canary and the goldfish...or a bat that'd just chosen her mate...

Yuri paused...before double taking at her tired brother and then biting her lip slightly...How cute...

"I'll get you some juice to celebrate, nya" the cat said, getting up and heading for the kitchen.

Donatello remained oblivious, probably due to the early hour.

"Celebrate what?" he asked the cheerful looking bat.

"Tell you later," she chirruped and gave him a wink that made him blush deeply for some unknown reason.

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_**Author's Note:**__ I don't know how fruit bats choose and mark a mate; this isn't to say that I haven't tried to find out though. I only found out when their mating season is (March – December, btw) So, using my artistic license, I've made it that they choose by scent and mark with a bite._


	16. Calm Before the Storm

_**Author's Note:**__ Grab your toothbrushes, 'cos this one's nice and sweet. We're building up to something, I swear._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Maybe there's a parallel universe where I own TMN. UNFORTUNATELY, I live in this one and I don't own them._

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Donatello watched his sister retreat for the kitchen, before looking towards Betty. "Were you comfortable last night?"

"Exceedingly," Betty answered, putting Fuzz carefully on the floor before standing up to hug him, "you make a nice place to cuddle, Donnie,"

Don blushed before he hugged the batgirl back, sneaking a small kiss on her cheek. "I certainly hope so, for your sake" he chuckled.

The bat cuddled closer and purred a word that sounded like "mine" then she nuzzled the point on his neck that hurt (he still didn't know that it was what humans would call a lovebite), but he blushed, and winced silently, before hugging the bat slightly tighter and sighed contently. So this was love huh?

The cat had come back with the juice, set it on the table beside the two, took a picture, and left, silently giggling. Don was too busy enjoying this moment to notice and Betty purred a little more then, bold as brass, leaned up and kissed him on the mouth.

The purple clad turtle was so shocked that he just stood there, stock-still, before he gently joined in, wrapping his arms around the bat's waist. He held her daintily, as though she were a china doll about to break at any second.

But then as usual, Mikey was the one to break the mood by snickering.

"Smooth move, Donnie!" the joker chuckled, but soon shut up when the batgirl hissed and bore her fangs at him.

A white and purple blur soon tackled Mikey to the ground.

"I swear, do you KNOW how many times I've asked you to LEAVE THEM ALONE, NYA!" The cat hissed. "I don't mind you acting yourself, but when you constantly-"

"Yuri get off of him." Leo said, taking the cat by the back of her shirt.

Don shook his head. "I'm really sorry, Betty..." he muttered.

She shrugged in reply, "s'okies," somewhat contentedly she laid her head against his shoulder, "he's just silly."

Don hugged Betty closer as he watched Leo let Mikey get up, with Yuri still in his grip.

"Has anyone woke up Master Splinter Or Raph?" the Tech turtle asked, still keeping the bat safe in his strong arms.

"I'll go wake Raph in a minute," Leo said, watching his brother as the bat hummed contentedly in his arms, looking as if she belonged there, "but I think Master Splinter's already awake."

"Ok. Just checkin'" Donnie said, resting his head on Betty's, lightly blushing. He never felt this way about anyone before. It was new...it was exiting...it was...perfect...

"Put me down, Leo-kun, nyuo..."

"Oh! Sorry Yuri!" Hastily the blue clad turtle lowered his sister back to the ground, "are you alright?"

Yuri's ears perked slightly, "Sure...I'm fine, nya" she said lowly. "It's my turn to make breakfast, is it not, nya?"

"Need a hand?" Betty asked suddenly, carefully breaking out of Don's grip

Yuri's ears went back slightly, before she smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure, nya! I'd like that, nya."

"Baby, I'm tired of facing the end, nya," she whispered, getting a head start towards the kitchen.

The bat chirruped, a softly questioning sound, at her friend.

"Where'd you go last night?" she asked gently.

Yuri paused and looked over slightly.

"Um...I had an argument with my Nekosanie, nya."

"Oh...'bout what?" the bat looked around, wondering what they were going to make for breakfast.

Yuri gently picked up a cantaloupe. "Um...I think he hates the fact that I'm in his way, nya" she cooed.

The cat glanced at the bat. "Do you like peaches and grapes, nya?"

"Yes," Betty replied with a small nod, "in his way? How?"

Yuri emptied a bunch of grapes into a bowl and started to chop up peaches and the cantaloupe, leaning towards fruit soled.

"I'm afraid of him, nya...I went out last night, and in the process, I tried to defend a woman form thugs, nya. That's when the Nightwatcher arrived, nya...he took them out with ease, nya." Yuri gently set the fruit down, and started to cut up some apples and some plums. "He usually follows me around if I'm on the surface during night, nya. I have this feeling that he wants to-..."

The batgirl frowned but said "to...be your mate?" what she really meant was something else entirely but she didn't know the right word for it.

Yuri suddenly blushed heavily and looked over to the bat. "Na-Nani? Why would a strong fighter want a worthless--... a- a weak cat, nya?"

"You're not worthless," Betty retorted, "you're my friend, an' you can fight better than me... course, most babies fight better than me," she added jokingly.

Yuri blushed again. She wanted to hug the bat...but there was fruit juice all over her. Her attention was put back to the bowl. "But...I'm serious, nya...Why would a strong fighter want a weak fighter, nya?"

"'cos fightin' skills don't matter if you like someone?" her friend suggested

"Huh?...hahaha!!" The cat laughed and nuzzled her friend. "You have a point, nya"

"So is breakfast ready, yet?" Mikey asked, peeking in.

"Nearly," Betty answered and she happily nuzzled Yuri back.

"I'm not gonna ask," the orange clad turtle said, watching the nuzzling display between the two girls and ducked back out of the kitchen.

The cat smiled at her friend, before she washed her hands free of the sticky stuff. "If you wanted to tell someone you loved them...how would you do it, nya?"

"Bite 'em," the bat replied simply, "but 'm thinkin 's different for cats, yes?"

Yuri blushed slightly. "I'd get slapped, most probably, nya..." the cat said. "But yeah, it's different for a Neko, nya," she set the bowl on the table. "I want to be able to show my brothers that I love them as their little sister, nya." She blushed. "And...yeah...I do sorta kinda have a thing for-"

"Raph?" Betty asked quietly, so that the turtles didn't hear her. She didn't judge, she knew that Yuri's "brothers" weren't related to her by blood, only adoption.

Yuri quickly looked around, to make sure no one was listening...before her ears went back, and she blushed Marjory. "Ye-...Yeah..."

"BREAKFAST, NYA!"

The bat covered her ears and winced. That'd hurt a little.

"'s cute," she whispered to Yuri, "you...match, y'know."

Yuri blushed as her brothers swarmed in. "Arigato, nya" she whispered, handing out plates.

"Welcome," Betty answered, holding the bowl that contained the mixed up fruit and setting it down on the table.

"Fruit, huh?" Mikey started, feeling the eyes of his brothers on him. "Um...interesting choice, Betty"

"Yuri's idea," the bat replied carefully, "you dun have to eat it if you dun want to."

"Nonono, We like fruit, Don't we Mikey?" Leo said, giving the orange clad turtle a look.

"Course we do!" He chirped. "If we didn't, why would we buy it?"

"'Cos Yuri makes you?" she suggested, one side of her mouth twitching slightly upwards in a small smile.

The cat started to giggle lightly.

"No, she can't make us do hardly anything." Mikey thought out loud.

"Think so?" Betty said innocently, sitting down next to Don and taking a small spoonful of the fruit salad. "I dun."

Don was enjoying the food already, as he snuck a quick foot caress on Betty's foot.

The batgirl's smile grew a little wider as she gently returned the caress and put a piece of cantaloupe melon in her mouth.

Leo was eating silently, keeping an eye on Mikey and the newly awoken Raph.

Raph, meanwhile had noticed the bruise on the side of his brother's neck.

"'Ey, Donnie? Are you ok, man? Yer neck's bruised."

"Huh? Where?" the tech-turtle raised a hand and felt around his neck, wincing when he came to the tender place, "really?"

Betty just sat there, the picture of innocence, and ate her breakfast. No way she was going to explain it to him over the breakfast table, it was something private for the two of them.

Yuri exchanged a look with Betty, with a slight smirk on her lips, before she too ate innocently. Her ears perked towards the surface though.

Leo looked over slightly. "Donnie...it looks like you've been bitten or something." he observed.

"Did Dracula visit last night?!" Mikey panicked.

"Dracula's made up, shell for brains." Raph retorted, "probably a spring loose in the couch or somethin, pokin' in his neck."

"I don't know," Mikey answered, "what if being made up is just what the vampires WANT us to think?!"

"I'm sure even Nekosanie would agree that, you are a total spazz, Mikey-kun, nya" the cat mewed, looking over.

"I think the' native American vampires got too Mikey," Betty chirruped, "they suck out your brain."

This made most of the people at the table laugh out loud, save for Splinter who simply chuckled lightly before clearing his throat and resuming drinking his tea.

Mikey blushed slightly, before silently eating more of his food.

Yuri looked at Betty in wonder...How does she do that?!

"How did you know about the native American version of vampires, Betty?" Don asked, as if reading Yuri's thoughts.

"I like to read when I visit Tony...he's got lotta books 'bout them."

"What kinds of books interest you, Betty?" Leo asked, looking interested.

"Uh..." the bat thought, really she only knew the books that Tony had, mostly mythology and science journals, "...anything...Yuri," she looked appealingly at her friend, "what do you read?"

It took a while for the cat to answer, she was busy listening to high-pitched noises coming from the surface. Quickly she shook her head and blinked.

"J-japanese, nya. I also read books on how to im-" Yuri paused and blushed. "Uhm...im...improvise in fighting, nya"

"Okies," Betty turned her attention back to her plate. She didn't like being the centre of attention; it made her nervous.

It took a while for Yuri to finally change the subject.

"Does anyone know why Nekosanie is so fast, nya?"

"I think he's got super powers, like in the comic books," Mikey piped up.

"What makes yaw ask that, Kitten?" Raph asked, sounding bored

Yuri slowly crossed her fingers behind her back as she smiled. "No reason nya. He's terrifying, yes, nya. I just want to know, if anyone would pass him up, nya"

"Why are you bringing up the Nightwatcher anyways, Yuri?" Leo asked cocking an eye ridge.

Yuri paused. "Nekosanie needs at least one fan, doesn't he, nya?"

Raph snorted, laughing, though no one knew why.

"I gotta go home now," Betty said suddenly, and shot Yuri a look that told the cat she was going to tell Don about the bruise, "Donnie, you walk me?" she asked.

Don nodded. "Certainly, Betty" he said, standing.

Yuri stood as well, giving Betty a goodbye hug. "Arigato, Watashi Tomodachi, nya" she purred.

"Ma'assalama, Sadeeqaty" the bat answered, returning the hug before bowing, as she'd seen Yuri do, to Splinter, "shokran jazeelan," she said politely ("thank you very much")

Splinter smiled and bowed his head slightly. "Be safe, Betty-chan" he cooed softly.

Don gently took Betty's hand and started walking out.

The cat watched them, wishing that she could stay with her friend longer. Oh well...she could probably see her tomorrow.

...then she noticed that Betty had left her stuffed cat behind.

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"The' bruise you got," Betty said to Don, once they were a fair bit away from the lair.

"What about it?"

"I know what it is"

"Oh. Really?" Don asked, getting relived. "Could you tell me? Maybe it's a small bug bite, or an animal bite?"

"Bat bite"

It took a while for this to sink in...Before the purple clad turtle began to blush dangerously.

"You-...You...marked me?" He asked shyly.

She nodded in response and cuddled up against his front, "my Donnie," she purred

Donnie blushed further, of all the turtles; he'd never have expected the heroine of the story to fall for the monster rather than a prince. His arms once again gently wrapped around the bat's waist, and he set his head on hers.

The batgirl felt blissful, she had a mate and a clan of sorts. She was happy. OK, so any actual mating would have to wait another 4 years, Tony had advised her that, if she did find a mate, she'd have to wait until she was 6 years old and looked 18 human years before having children.

"Home now," she said eventually but making no move to break out of the embrace.

"Oh. Of course." Don muttered softly, before shifting, keeping one arm around the bat, and beginning to walk again.

"Nicer to cuddle on a sofa than in the sewer," Betty told him, snuggling against his side as they walked, " unless you gotta go home an' train?"

Don thought about this. "Maybe I could get Master Splinter to let me have the day off..."

"No need, nya"

"Yuri!" The bat chirruped, despite liking alone time with Don, the bat was always happy to see her friend (Don, however, was kind of disappointed.)

Yuri forced a smile and handed the forgotten plushie towards the bat. "I assume you still want this, nya?" the cat softly cooed. "I only came to return in, nya"

"Fuzz!" happily, Betty took her new toy from Yuri, "Thankies, Yuri." she chirruped and gave her friend a kiss to the cheek.

Yuri smiled and bowed slightly. She looked towards her brother, avoiding eye contact though. "Uhm...I've already requested and had approval of a day of leisure for you, nekonie, nya"

This startled the tech-turtle slightly, but then he smiled at his sister, "Thanks a lot Yuri," he said, meaning it, "I owe you one, OK?"

One nothing, nya The cat thought sarcastically. Either way, the cat gave the turtle a hug, did the same to the bat, winking as she did so, and rocketed back for the lair.

Don watched his sister go, and then looked down to his bat. "You first, Betty" he said gently.

"She okies?" the bat asked, watching after Yuri, she sounded concerned.

"I don't know" the tech turtle replied truthfully. "Before we do anything, I'll call Leo and Raph to make sure she's ok, alright?"

"'kay," she could scent the love the turtles had for Yuri, it over hung the other scents...but she finally got it. They were older, and male. Males had to act tough.

"You tell them to spend time with her, okies?"

"Not a bad Idea." Don said, opening his shell cell and dialling a number. "she wanted to watch the Lion King anyways." He grinned. "You're very observant, Betty"

"Gotta be," she answered softly, and toyed with the ribbons on the back of his mask as he made his phone call.

Donnie blushed, as he waited for his brother to pick up.

"Raph speakin'" came the answer.

"Raph, it's Don...Yuri's on her way home and...well..." he passed the phone to Betty, she could probably say it more easily than he could.

"Spend some time with her, pleasies?" the bat said, "pleasies Raphael?"

Raph grinned. Maybe the kitty was doing what he told her to after all. "Of course." he answered. "Just don't beat up Donnie too much, Bets" he teased.

"Okies," Betty giggled, she liked Raph just fine...heh, he and Yuri'd make a nice mated pair if they ever got their acts together.

"Okay, I'll wait fer 'er. Raph out."

Donnie looked over to Betty. "Is everything going ok?" he asked as she handed him his shell cell back.

She nodded once more. Hopefully Yuri would get to cuddle with Raph now...heh, simultaneous turtle cuddling...ought to be a sport.

Don raised an eye ridge as the batgirl laughed softly at whatever was going through her mind.

"C'mon," Betty said, once they'd reached the door of her bunker, "I wanna cuddle."

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When Yuri arrived back at the Lair she began to reflect on what Nekosanie told her last night

"Welcome back, Kitten." Raph's voice cut across her thoughts.

Yuri looked up, and slightly smiled. "Konichi'wa, nya." she cooed softly. "Who's turn is it, nya?"

"Well, I dunno 'bout you, but I was gonna watch a movie. Gonna join me, Kitten?"

Yuri blushed slightly, but chose to hide it. "Is it a scary movie, nya?"

"Only if ya count the Lion King as scary," Raph teased and held up the DVD box, "Yaw didn't get ta watch it last night 'cos the bat and the brain fell asleep, remember?"

Yuri paused and said: "Who are you, nya? What have you done with my brother, nya? And Did Nekosanie abduct you or something, nya?'

"Geez, Kitten," Raph rolled his eyes, "I'm only tryin' ta be nice, if yaw don't wanna watch yaw don't gotta."

THAT sounded more like Raph

The cat soon planted a grin on her face, and embraced her brother tightly. "Arigato Watashi Aru, nya" she purred.

"Ya welcome," the tough turtle mumbled, heading over to put the disc in the machine before flopping onto the sofa beside Yuri.

"Um...one question...Why were you laughing about Nekosanie, nya?"

"Eh?...Just struck me as funny, Kitten, there alla those people out there saying what a menace he is...and he's got one loyal fan." He reached over and messed between Yuri's ears, "it's cute."

Yuri blushed slightly..._He rubs just like-..._

"He's frightening though, nya...He's almost as strong as you are, nya." The cat said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Heh, almost," Raph agreed, "I guess,"

Realisation began to hit the cat...but she always made a rule to herself never to jump to conclusions like a normal cat...

This much in mind...she edged closer to the turtle for warmth, as the Circle of life song began.

Raph let her. it wasn't so bad...actually kinda nice to have Kitten to himself for once.

"Arushitaru, Nekonie, nya"

The red-clad turtle nearly choked on the soda he'd started drinking and stared wide-eyed at the cat, who could've killed herself as her face suddenly turned red as a beet.

"Ya know what?" Raph said after awhile, "let's just forget it an watch the movie."

"Don't flatter yourself, nya!" the cat suddenly said. "You're not nearly as good looking as Nekosanie, nya"

The tough turtle felt a little crushed at that, but hid it well...and retorted by tickling Yuri.

The cat suddenly squealed with laughter, as she tried to fight her stronger brother back...

Speaking of tickling...

Don was doing a pretty good number on Betty as well...

The batgirl's laughter was higher pitched than Yuri's but she enjoyed being tickled as much as the cat.

"Okies," she managed to gasp out, "Star Trek is better than Star Wars!"

Don smiled and stopped tickling the bat, lightly planting a kiss on the girl's nose as he did so. "Yer darn right it is." the turtle replied, chuckling.

Betty took a few minutes to regain her breath then sat up to snuggle on Don's front again.

"Okies, so...what's so good 'bout it?" she winked at him playfully and kissed his snout.

"Not as good as this." the turtle replied, gently pressing his beak to her mouth in a soft kiss.

The bat made an odd sort of chirruping/purr combination again... she looked happy, it was unbelievable

She should tell Tony later, for now she just wanted to cuddle.

The turtle, however, didn't want this moment to end. Gently he brought his hands up to her face, and proceeded to caress her cheeks, softly. He felt so good. He was hoping that she felt the same...

Because now the turtle knew...he loved this bat dearly.

Betty seemed to get where HIS hormones were attempting to send him so she gently folded herself to rest her head on his shoulder and said softly, "No matin', I look under-age," but she held his hand tightly. "Love you," she purred and nuzzled him gently.

Donnie blushed heavily, and then smiled. "No mating." he promised, putting his nose to hers, "I love you too Betty"

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Back at the lair, half of the movie remained unseen as the tickle fight there was still going, on both sides.

"OK OK!" the cat, panted, hurting much. The turtle was tough...even when he was just tickling her!

"Fine! You're just as good looking as nekosanie, nya!"

"An' don't ferget it," he stopped tickling her and winked. "Ya alright, Kitten?"

"I-...I think so, nya" the cat panted. "What are you jealous fer, nya?"

"...I ain't jealous o' nobody," Raph grouched lightly, though his tone wasn't all that convincing.

Yuri blushed slightly at the turtle still pinning her. "Then...why is it...that you strive to convince everyone that you're something that we already see you as, nya?"

The tough turtle couldn't answer. "Let's jus' finish the movie, Kitten,"

The cat frowned slightly. "You want me to say if first, don't you, nya"

Raph grunted but his body language said he was listening intently

The cat positioned herself carefully...before she planted her lips to his quickly, and with the prowess of a true cat, quickly back flipped and jump kicked each wall until she was in her pad.

Raph let his head fall against the back of the couch, "nice one, bonehead," he mentally berated himself.

"...Okay...I'm not going to even ask by this point..." Mikey's voice said shakily. "I'm gonna try to wake myself up now..."

"How long you been there?" Rah asked

"Since you stopped tickling Yuri...I thought you were warning her not to insult you again..." Mikey answered. "Maybe she was just taunting...heh heh, everyone already knows about 'er thing for the Nightwatcher..."

A thud soon followed and both turtles looked over in the direction it'd come from

A stack of pizza boxes lay innocently on the floor, making them look up.

"If you EVER use my pad to hide your pizzas again, Mikey-kun, I'll plant my fist so far in your stomach, you'll never be hungry again, nya!"

"Eh...heh..." Mikey sweat-dropped, "sorry Yuri."

"Alright there, Kitten?"

Yuri winked at Mikey, before looking towards Raph. "I've gotta get some sleep. Nekosanie didn't let me finish my errand last night, so I'm gonna try again tonight, nya"

Mentally, Raph groaned, great another night of sending her home. He'd kill if she got hurt or worse.

"Yeah, I love you both, too nya" the cat mocked.

"Oh! Sorry, Yuri!" Mikey grinned, embarrassed. "sweet dreams, muh little sister!"

Yuri winked at Mikey. "Arigato, Nekonie, nya"

"Sleep safe, Kitten," Raph added

Yuri smiled at her stronger brother, and retreated into the room, and under the covers.

"Well, I'm gonna get a drink," Mikey announced at headed towards the kitchen.

Raph...flopped on the sofa. "Geez, Kitten," he thought, "the things I'll do to protect ya!"

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As Raph dozed off to sleep to prepare for the night...Don was currently in a spot with Betty over a monopoly game.

"I'm NOT givin you the' train stations," the bat said firmly

"You don't have a choice, $780 now"

She thought for a moment, patting one of the cards against her mouth slowly.

"How 'bout..." she said eventually, "I give you a kiss instead?"

Don blushed. "how evil..." he muttered, blushing more.

She pouted at him cutely and he sighed. She was as pathetic as Yuri!! Only...

"FINE! Just stop it with the eyes" he playfully dramatised, "You're just too cute..."

"Okies," the bat chirruped then leaned over the table and kissed him on the mouth briefly.

Don chuckled once it was over. "You drive a hard bargain." he muttered playfully.

"You love me though," she said happily...then caught sight of the clock and dashed to the radio she kept at the far end of the kitchen counter, switching it on quickly.

"...start of our Show," the announcer was just finishing, "bringing you the best of Smooth Jazz in the whole of New York City"

"Wait...which program is this? Morning or night?"

"Early evenin'" the bat answered as the Jazz tune "Angela" started to play ((aka, the theme from "Taxi"))

"Early evening huh? Almost night time..." The tech turtle got up and approached the bat with a smooth smile, "Care to dance?"

"I...don't dance," She answered, "I don't know how."

"Here. I'll show you"

So she stood up and let him lead.

"Ok first...put your hands on my shoulders," once she did so, he gently set his hands around her waist. "Ready?" he whispered, before he slowly stepped back and to the side.

"Where'd you learn to dance?" she asked curiously

"Oh…plenty of watching TV...besides, when we were kids, Yuri liked to playfully dance with us." the Tech turtle chuckled. "You look beautiful" he whispered.

The bat blushed and purred though she didn't quite get him. She was still wearing her ratty jeans and tank top, though her feet were bare now. "I see..." she said though, and moved a little closer.

The turtle gently hugged her closer as they continued to dance the evening away...

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_**Author's Note:**__ Cuteness, huh? I promise, there's action coming up really soon! I just don't see why I should throw them straight into angst without letting them enjoy themselves first._


	17. Best Laid Plans & Candy

_**Author's Note:**__ (pants – out f breath) longest…chapter…so far…_

_**Disclaimer:**__ (Has the characters lined up like a police identification parade) hmmmmmm (looks at the TMNT) Nope, they're not mine, officer._

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The cat was already up and jumping rooftops. She couldn't smell the Nightwatcher, and so far, that was fine with her.

The cat soon slowed down when she saw the TGRI building off in the distance.

If she timed it right, and didn't tire herself too quickly...she could get there in 30 minutes.

Far enough behind her so she didn't catch his scent, Raph followed.

Kitten was crazy if she thought she was going alone...

Yuri smelled the air slightly. She still couldn't smell the Nightwatcher...and it was worring her.

"Maybe he's beating up thugs, nya" she decided...before she clean jumped off the building.

Raph caught her...or rather Nightwatcher did.

"Nice of ya ta drop in, Kitty Cat."

Yuri gaped. "how-...wha-?..." finally the cat moaned, as her ears went back.

"You're tricky, nya"

"Proud of it too," he answered "So, Kitty Cat, where ya headed?"

"Same place i was supossed to go last night, nya" she muttered.

"Which is...?"

Before she completely back flipped out of his grasp, and readied four throwing stars.

"I'm going to TGRI" the cat said lowly. "I know you're pure of heart, Nekosanie. But no one can stop what I have to do, nya"

"Be practical," he pointed out, "you've courage, but they've more guards than you can take down alone, Kitty Cat."

"And they also have innocent lives of animals of whom i'm sworn to protect, nya" the cat whispered. "I won't let them suffer for my mistake, nya"

"Mistake? Tell me what mistakes you've made, Kit...ty cat." Damn, h'ed nearly given himself away, almost called her "kitten"

Tears entered the cats' eyes. "My mother and I left them, nya...we put our safety above theirs...we left them behind, because we were too scared for our own lives, nya." She clenched her fists tightly. "I'm gonna prove that I CAN do something right for once, by protecting my own kind, nya. Even if it kills me, nya!"

Raph's eyes widened...die? Oh no...

"Whoa, there Kitten!"...dammit! He could've kicked himself

Yuri's eye went wide. It couldn't be...

"Raph-kun..." she murmured, looking horrified.

Damn! He wished there were a hole he could crawl into.

"Don't tell Fearless Leader..." he murmured

Yuri looked down and gently kicked a rock. "Great..." she muttered sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood. "now I find out, this whole time I had a crush on my own brother, nya"

Whoa...crush?

Now...why did his heart jsut get lighter?

Yuri smiled softly at her Nekosanie...before ripping off towards TGRI.

Aww shell...He raced after her and just about managed to grab her.

Hold it Kitten," he said, "I toldja ya ain't goin in there ALONE." he put the emphasis on the last word.

"I'm not, nya!" the cat replied, managing to dodge his grabs. "You're following me, are you not, nya?" Her eyes narrowed, but sparkled. "Nekosanie?"

"Yeah, I am...but I bin thinkin...how ya gonna get in Kitten?" he asked, finally managing to get a hold on her waist and hold her still. "I think we need an expert...someone who knows the way..."

Yuri found herself pressed near the leather and metal suit of her brother. She looked up to him, frowning hurtfully.

"I'm not a-"

"Yeah, yeah," he cut her off, "not a kitten anymore, I know. I'm not sayin' yer still a kitten, I'm sayin...and it kills me ta say this...we need help ta get in...an' we know someone who knows th' ins an' outs."

Yuri's eyes went wide, before she plain pushed the nighwatcher away.

"DON'T ASK ME TO DO THAT, NYA!!" she hissed. "I will NOT put my friend in anymore pain, nya! I won't let anyone get hurt thanks to THEM, nya! I will protect those I love, nya!"

"An' what about th' people who love YOU, Kitten?!" Raph shouted.

Yuri paused slightly...in all her life...Raph had never said anything like that...not even brotherly...

The cat let her tears fall as she unseathed her small hidden blades.

"Like you once said, Raph-kun..." her water filled eyes narrowed.

"Kitten, let's just go home," Raph said, sounding suddenly worn out, "I'D miss you if ya got hurt or died in there, Betty'd miss you, EVERYONE would miss ya. We need a plan, Kitten."

Yuri's ears went back...before she dropped to her knees and set her blades on the ground. Her face was down cast and she started shaking...

Carefully, Raph picked her up and held her, "c'mon Kitten, don't cry."

"Iie Iie, nya" the cat sobbed, hiding her face in his shoulder. "Tustie?!"

"C'mon, I'll give ya ride." and he carefull carried her to where he kept his ride.

Yuri tried to get out of his grip, wishing that she could just dissapere...then Raph did something unexpected and gave her a kiss to the forehead.

Yuri paused...and went still...

"Fine, nya..."

But I want another one...Her mind muttered.

It was a matter of minutes to get back, including the time it took Raph to hide his gear.

Yuri let him lead the way, knowing he could hear her if she stopped walking...

"...Nekosanie?"

"Hmm?" he asked, looking over his shoulder

"...Are you too chicken to give me one more, nya?"

"One more...what?" though he had the suspicion he knew what she meant.

Yuri stopped walking and poked her fingers together slightly, blushing lightly.

"Whadda ya want, Kitten?" Raph asked in a soft voice

Yuri looked up at him shyly... "Uhm...well...I just-..."

Raph sighed, leaned down and gave her a kiss to the cheek...

Before Yuri quickly moved her face to where they were actually kissing.

A second...turned into ten...

Before the cat broke away and blushed. "Arushitaru,nya" she murmured, before rushing off towards the lair.

Raph blinked and mttered "I love ya too, Kitten," before following at a slower pace.

Yuri tore through the lair...Just to crash into her eldest brother, who caught her firmly.

"Where have you been?" came the stern voice. "And where's Raph?"

Yuri looked up quickly...

"I...I went out...Raph-kun came to get me, nya...He's...almost here, nya"

"Where did you go?" the blue clad turtle asked, keeping a firm grip on the cat.

"For a walk, Leo," Raph answered, "for a walk. Me an Kitten had things we needed to talk 'bout."

Leo looked up and frowned at the red clad turtle, gently letting his sister free of his grip.

"For a walk?"

"D'ya ears work properly, fearless leader?"

"...Since when have you of all turtles ever gone out for just 'a walk'?"

"Since this week," Raph retorted, "I just need air ta clear my head OK?"

Leo frowned. "You're a horrable liar, Raph." he muttered.

Yuri looked from one turtle to the other. Oh slag, oh slag, oh slag...

"Forget it, Leo," Raph suddenly backed down and walked off to his bedroom.

That was...unexpected

Yuri bit her lip slightly, before she quickly hugged her eldest brother, and headed over towards Raph's room.

"...Are-...Are you alright, nya?"

The read clad turtle gave her a small smile, "Fine, Kitten, just feelin...overwhelmed," he said quietly.

The cat sat beside him and gently set a hand on his.

"I'm always here for you, nya"

"I appreciate it, Kitten," and he brought the kiss tally up to four, by kissing her cheek again quickly

The cat smiled softly, before griping his hand softly, and leaning against his bed, gazing up at him warmly.

"Did you...really mean what you said back there, nya?"

"Hmm?" Raph was on the verge of falling asleep, the one time anyone could've got the truth out of him.

"Did you mean what you said...that you'd be upset if I was out of the picture, nya?"

"Yeah, Kitten," he nodded, "I'd miss ya a ton," he gave her a tired grin...then fell backwards asleep.

Yuri smiled. "then we'll fight for them together, nya" she cooed...before she also dozed off.

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"You...want...what?" Betty blinked as Raph explained what they were planning to do.

"To get into TGRI and free the other animals and stop the ones who hurt ya."

The batgirl bit her lip.

"Raph," Don said, "I don't think it's such a good-"

"Okies," Betty interrupted him quickly, "'ll help, but one condtion."

"What's 'at?"

"I wanna go with you."

"You WHAT, nya?!" The cat panicked. "Are you serious, nya?"

The bat looked at her friend and nodded, expression deathly serious. "Very," she replied.

"Bet," Raph said, "think about whatcha sayin', ya only just got out...ya have nightmares 'bout th' place."

"And I need to know the' monsters are dead!"

Yuri looked over to Raph. "She has a point, nya" she cooed, before looking towards the bat, dead serious as well. "But we're not killing them, nya"

"I jus...need to know...they can't hurt me 'anymore." the batgirl amended, "I...can't take bein' scared all th' time."

The cat nodded. "I promise, Betty-chan. I won't let them hurt you, nya. I won't let them hurt anyone ever again, nya" she said, taking her friend's hand in her own.

Betty nodded and gave Yuri's hand a squeeze.

"What you need to know?"

"Is there anywhere not guarded?"

"The furnace room...s'where they burn things that die."

The cat looked to her brothers.

"We need all six of us, nya"

Raph nodded in agreement, Don still looked wary, but he could see her mind was made up.

"So, Bet, ya any good in a fight?" Raph said

"No."

"...what can ya do?"

"Hack the security system." she replied firmly.

"I could probably smell out the way with the help of Betty-chan, nya"

"A'ight, s'all comin together now."

"Betty," Don whispered, "You're SURE you want to do this? You don't have to..."

Yuri looked over to Don. "Yamero, Nekonie." she whispered, before letting Betty stand up.

"I'm getting Leo-kun and Mikey-kun, nya"

"Yeah, you do that...I'll come with ya," and they left. Leaving Don and Betty alone.

"Why?" he asked.

"I'm tired of bein' scared, Donnie"

Don moved to protest, but sighed. "Fine...but I need to keep an eye on you...so I can protect you."

"Okies," the bat stood and wrapped her around the turtle's waist, (insofar as she could anyway) "'ll st'y safe...'f yu promise th' same."

Don nodded and smiled, hugging her tightly. "I promise"

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"We're doin' what?" Mikey asked, kinda surprised that Raph was siding with his sister for once.

"Takin' down th' medical labs from the inside, Mikey," Raph explained again, "an' Betty's gonna help us."

"Exactly how are we going to track where the guards are, Raph?" Leo asked, arms crossed. "I know we're doing this for the sake of those animals...but think about it"

"'at's why Betty's helpin', think 'bout it Leo, she knows th' place well enough."

Mikey rubbed his hands together. "Bat vs. Labs part two, ding!"

Leo sighed and rubbed his temples. "fine, but i'm not letting her go in first."

"That's why I'm going in first, nya" the cat stood up.

"What are you-"

"Think about it! I'm faster than all of you, nya! I can get out quicker in case we can't get in, nya!"

"That part we hadn't talked 'bout," Raph said, before Leo could blame him.

"We're going to have to talk about that one together," Leo said.

"I'll get Donnie and Betty," Mikey bolted off.

"We're going to need a plan for this," Leo said thoughtfully, "a bit sturdier than what's been planned already."

"Alright then, nya" The cat looked up. "What is your command then, Nekonie, nya?"

Where can we get a map of the TGRI building?" he said, "Betty can point out anywhere else that's unguarded or unwatched"

Yuri blinked, before walking away and pouncing up to her room.

Within the minute, she returned with a map.

"...Don't ask, nya" the cat growled, when her brother started to open his mouth.

Leo decided to do as he was told for once.

Betty didn't chirrup when she entered the room; instead she went straight to Yuri's side and helped her unfold the map then studied it seriously

Yuri looked over to Betty slightly. "I don't know much about the new building, nya. But I do remember something about under ground tunnels in the old TGRI building...do they still have that, nya?"

The bat nodded..."and here...here...and...there," she pointed out a few places, "no guards or cameras."

The cat nodded, and looked closely into maps. "I think groups of three or pairs are needed, nya" she suggested, looking to her leader.

"That...seems to be the best bet," Leo agreed

Yuri nodded then looked to Betty. "How should we pair up, nya?"

"Well, Betty's already decided to hack the security system," Don spoke up, "I think someone should stay with her whilst she does it."

"I'll team up with Yuri," Raph said.

The cat blushed...then looked down slightly.

"I personally think someone strong should stay with Betty-chan, nya" she muttered.

"Donnie." the bat said firmly.

"We might need him though." leo pointed out

"Looks like it'll hafta be Mikey."

"What? Why me?"

"'cos you're the only one left." Raph said.

Yuri glared at her brothers. "Take this seriously, nya!" she hissed. "Betty-chan needs to be protected! Mikey-kun OR Leo-kun will stay with her, nyou!"

The turtles moved to protest, but the cat glared a dangerous glare that warned she was not going to be tangled with.

"I'll stay with her." Mikey said easily, it was better not to annoy Yuri further

"I'll be in the furnace room, most of the wires go through there, it's quiet most of the time."

"Right, that's dealt with."

Yuri looked over to Leo and Don. "You two will stay together, and report anything out of the ordinary, nya." she muttered. "I'll go in first to make sure everything's clear, nya. Once Raph-kun and I are inside, we'll send an invisable signal on the shell cells, nya"

No-one argued though Leo wondered when Yuri'd become so in charge...then again, this was something close to her heart she was bound to take charge of this.

I'm gonna need a laptop or somethin'" Betty spoke up

"I'll fix one up," Don answered

Yuri nodded at Don. "good idea, you two, nya."

The cat stood up. "As for the rest of us...training's in order, nya. The laptop is bound to take Donnie-kun an hour or so, nya."

"I'll help Donnie," Betty offered, "I'm gonna be usin' it after all."

"She's got a point" Don said, "Come on," and he led her off to his workshop.

Yuri nodded and looked to her brothers. "Two on two, nya" she ordered

"Gotcha," the remaining three chorused, quite willing to let Yuri lead...this time.

Yuri nodded. "So pick yer partner, nya...please, nya" Even though she was temporary leader...she might as well still keep up the peace.

"You an' me Kitten," Raph repeated. Even though she was showing authority, no way he was letting her out of his sight.

Yuri crossed her arms, and looked over at Raph as if thinking.

"Fine, we'll rotate, nya. A rotating practice battle, nya, Start"

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Don and Betty meanwhile were working out a laptop for her.

"Connections here?" the bat suggested

Don nodded. "Yeah, and over in A-3 and 4"

The bat connected the wires to the right places. Since finding out the plan she wasn't as chirpy and more serious.

It was an odd switch

Don looked over to her slightly. "Are-...Are you sure you'll be all right going over there?" he asked softly. He remembered that Betty hated TGRI...

Betty hesitated and then shook her head, "No...but...I gotta do this or I'm gonna have nightmares forever and...I can't live like that, Donnie."

Don also hesitated, before nodding, and setting a hand on hers...before he reluctantly turned his attention back on his work.

Very gently, the batgirl nuzzled him in a reassuring way. "'Im gonna be okies after this is done."

Don slowly wrapped an arm around her. "Don't worry Betty. We will protect you. I promise"

"I know," se replied, and leans against him for a few minutes in silence, before reminding him that they needed to work.

Though the bat couldn't get rid of a slight sense of foreboding

"Don't worry." Don said, returning to his work. "they will be punished."

"Kinda scares me..that thought," the bat confessed, "I...dun like what they do but...scares me..."

"To punish them?"

"...I dunno...I...I jus want them to stop"

"They will be stopped. That much I promise you, Betty" the tech turtle whispered, slightly looking out the door.

"I wonder if my Umm's still alive sometimes," Betty told him, "and sometimes 'm certain she's not but...I dunno, they never talked about her."

Don turned back to the bat. "I hope so too, Betty...but...as much as it kills me to say this..." the turtle once again rested his hand on the bat's. "We need to worry about that later..."

"Mm." she nodded and turned her attention back to working on the laptop, biting her lip in concentration. This needed to be right; it needed to take out all of the security systems in one go.

Don also turned back to the work, listening to the grunting that came from the training outside.

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"Mikey! Try to increase your speed!" Leo said, as his sword clashed with Raph's sai

"Aright, alright," Mikey grumbled then looked to Yuri, "ready to go again?"

Yuri twirled the blades that she hardly ever used. "Hai, nya" she said lowly, close to a growl. "You first, Mikey-kun, nya"

The normally jokey turtle became serious and focused. "Let's go," he announced twirling his 'chucks.

Before the turtle knew it, the cat was in front of him and just gave him a wicked uppercut...

"Y-ya been practicing?" he asked a little dazed.

Without a reply, she backflipped over him and kicked him in the shell, causing him to land on his stomach.

"Hai, nya" was the simple answer.

The cat looked over towards her other two brothers and seemed to be thinking.

"Tag team" Mikey whispered, having regained his breath and stance.

The cat looked down to her brother...and gently helped him up. "Practice with Raph-kun, nya" she cooed, nuzzling him in apology. "It'll be easier, nya"

That much said, she looked over to Leo and Raph. "Minna, nya." she mewed, ordering to switch.

"Heh, no argument," Mikey said and dutifully swapped.

Splinter watched unnoticed, he'd NEVER seen his daughter take charge before, let alone seen her brothers actually treat her with that much respect. Although...there seemed to be a glint in her eyes...that wasn't there before.

Yuri circled around Leo once...before suddenly jabbing her elbow into his side and back flipping over him, looking up to make sure he was alright

A look out of the Dojo showed him that Donatello and Betty were hard at work on their own project, working amiably and carefully pointing out each other's mistakes without argument.

Children grew so quickly...And yet...all this determination could only mean one thing...

"Where," he asked, announcing his presence, much to the shock of his children/students and guest, "are you planning on going with such determination?"

Yuri paused and turned around and said, "Master Splinter-sama, this was my idea, nya"

"OK...what, exactly, was your idea?" he wasn't angry, just curious.

Yuri sheathed her blades, walked over and kneeled on both knees.

"I-...I want to liberate the animals at TGRI, nya" she whispered. "They are slaves of an unwanted fate, nya. They are innocent creatures, forced to become something they are not, nya"

The cat looked up, a rare frown on her face. "Evil has captured them, nya...We want to free them, nya"

"I see...and it's is Miss Betty-chan who has inspired this, yes?" again he was just asking, making sure he understood correctly.

Yuri looked shocked, before bowing her head, ears flatted.

"Hai, Sensai-sama, nya..." she whispered.

"You are not just going to barge in, correct?"

"Iie, master...We are going to use stealth, nya." the cat whispered, as she dutifully explained her plan to her Sensai.

Once she was done, she continued to stare at the ground, as though she was going to be struck.

"You have certainly put a lot of planning into it...it is well thought out and..." he blinked, "are you CERTAIN Betty-chan wished to accompany you?"

"That was not a part of my original plan, nya" the cat cooed, looking up. "But she also feels it is her duty to help our kind, nya"

"She...is aware that her fighting skills are not...at the same level as yours and your brothers?"

"That's why Mikey-kun will guard her, nya." The cat's eyes narrowed. "He already knows were his duty lies, and I trust him, nya."

"I am just making certain I understand," the rat placated her, "truly, it seems you've worked everything out to a T" he nodded in approval.

The cat bowed her head, and looked to the floor.

"If this is what you feel you must do," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "then it is what you must do...but endeavour to return safely."

The cat looked up and nodded. "I will return Betty-chan, and your sons to you, safe from harm, nya." she promised, standing up, and putting a fist over her heart.

"I will protect them, nya"

"And no doubt, they will endeavour to return you safely," he nodded.

Yuri paused, a surprised look on her face, before she bowed. "Arigato...Father-sama, nya"

Splinter smiled at her and, forgetting for a moment that he was in the Dojo and in teacher mode, gave her a small, fatherly hug and a pat between the ears.

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"Donnie," Betty announced a few hours later, "go to bed,"

"I can't..." the turtle replied, groggily. "I need to finish the laptop...I can't quit now."

"If you work tired you're gonna make mistakes," the bat warned.

"Nuh...gotta...finish."

The bat considered for a few minutes...then stood and hugged him around the neck, "Okies, you work, I'm gonna go lie down on your bed...by myself."

Donnie looked over slightly. "But-...but...Are the others asleep?"

"Hmm...think so...huh," she looked thoughtful, "maybe I can bunk w' Mikey..."

"No wait!" Donnie practically jumped up. "Nonono, I'll put this down...I'm sure Yuri won't mind..." The turtle grimaced. "I hope..."

"Unless..." the bat started

"Unless what?"

"Unless..._you_ wanna bunk with me?" she said, "just until I fall asleep, of course."

The turtle nodded, before daintily holding her hand in his.

Leading the sleepy turtle to his bed was easy enough, and then it was just a matter of waiting for him to finally give in to sleep.

Carefully, Betty broke out of his arms and crept back to finish working on the laptop.

"You're a great deceiver, nya..."

"Only when it comes to gettin' Donnie to go to bed," the bat answered softly, "how often does he fall asleep over a project?"

"All the time, nya" the cat replied.

"That can't be healthy fir him...why's he work so hard?"

"Usually he just gets caught up in things, and he doesn't wanna put it down, nya." She said, eye softening. "This time he was doing it for you, nya"

"I know...and I'm thankful...but makes me sad to see him work like that."

The cat paused, and walked up to the bat. "I understand where he's coming from, nya. You're a welcome to this family, and a precious friend in our hearts, nya. We want you happy and safe, nya." The cat smiled sadly. "My brothers all love yew, nya. And so do I nya"

"Love you guys too," carefully, Betty put the tools down and hugged Yuri, "you're th' only family I've got besides Tony," and she explained to Yuri about wondering if her mother was alive sometimes but not knowing for certain because she never heard her mentioned even in passing.

The cat gently held the bat back, listening intently to the words that the bat told her. Yuri's eyes softened once more.

She knew what that was like...wondering if her mother was still out there...only-..

"Betty-chan...I can try to find out fer you, nya." the cat mewed.

Betty looked at her wide-eyed..."No," she shook her head, "don't put yourself at risk for my silly ideas." she warned.

The cat smiled. "Iie." the cat cooed softly. "I can commune with animals, nya. If anything, I could find out on the twilight bark, or the midnight mew, nya"

The bat ran fingers though her hair a few times..."if you can"

The cat smiled and hugged her friend gently.

"I'm so glad nekosanie stopped me, nya" she muttered.

"...Another run in?" the batgirl had excellent hearing, despite the earlier injury to her eardrums. "what happened?"

Yuri could've hit herself, but she smiled at her best friend.

"I was gonna go to TGRI by myself...but Nekosanie stopped me, and reasoned with me that it was better not to go alone, nya" She smiled. "He revealed to me a secret, nya"

"Oh? Secret?" the bat tilted her head curiously

Yuri could practically feel the hot/shocked stare of her prince watching on.

"...He revealed to me that he deeply cares about me, nya. That's why he always stalked me, nya" She giggled. "Makes me wonder why I was ever scared of him, nya"

The bat laughed gently, "you're in love?"

Yuri nodded and put a fingre to her lips. "But it's a secret, nya" she whispered, winking.

The two girls giggled gently. To an outsider who didn't know them, they might've seemed like two ordinary teen girls at a sleepover (If teen girls had agendas against a large corporation and worked on difficult computerware anyway)

"He kiss you?" Betty asked, gently teasing.

"Sorta, nya" the cat replied, blushing. "I kinda got the better of him, nya...but he seemed to enjoy it though, nya"

She giggled again. "I just hope my nekosanie doesn't think less of me nya"

"Nah, you're cute, people forgive you anything." Betty chirruped

Yuri giggled and huggled her friend yet again. "and I KNOW Donnie-kun would do anything to protect you, nya. He loves you so much, it's not even funny, nya." She smiled. "I'm happy that he's happy, but you let me know if he ever gets to ya, nya" the cat winked, exhibiting a playfull love for her smarter brother.

"I will," the batgirl snickered, then connected a small blue wire to a small red wire on the motherboard of the laptop she was working on, tongue between her teeth in concentration.

Yuri watched her friend silently, before turning serious again.

"Just to let you know...no matter what happens...You'll always be my best friend, nya" the cat whispered.

Betty lowered her screwdriver and looked very serious at the cat...and tackleglomped her.

"You'll always be my best friend too." she whispered back.

The cat returned the embrace before looking over. "Need any help, nya?"

"No, I'm okies, nearly done..." she thought about it "...kinda been thinkin I wanna try candy though...seen Mikey eat it."

Yuri smiled. "I've got just the thing, nya. I'll be right back, nya" the cat grinned and quickly shot towards the kitchen.

The bat waited, and finished up the motherboard before starting on reassembling the laptop as she did so.

Less than a minute later, the cat had returned with a medium sized bowl, full of goodies.

"They're good, nya. Especially the chocolate, nya"

Betty blinked and put her tools down again. "Where tu start?" she asked. She'd seen candy, Tony gave her some Jolly Ranchers every now and then but...she'd never seen this much.

The cat sat and smiled at the bat as she continued to offer the bowl. "Hershey's are good, nya" she suggested.

Cautiously the bat took a small chocolate and took a hesitant bite.

Yuri's ears perked in anticipation. Hopefully Betty would like it better than she had the pizza.

"S'okies," the bat chirruped...then she found the yoghurt covered raisins and gave a soft of purr of pleasure.

Yuri giggled. "Mikey hates those, so you can have all you want of those, nya" the cat purred.

"Thankies!" Betty answered enthusiastically, but unlike the turtles, she didn't inhale the candy, instead took her time to actually taste them even offering to share with Yuri

Yuri giggled, and helped her self to most of the chocolate, particularly the Resses and the nerds.

Again, this was an outsider moment, when they would've looked like normal teenage girls. In a way it was a cruel parody of lives they couldn't really have...but both of them wouldn't have swapped the lives they did have.

Yuri carefully chewed her chocolate, and then swallowed. "Will that lap top be done by tomorrow night, nya?" she asked softly, casting a glance at the machine.

"Mmh hmm," Betty nodded, flipping another raisin into her mouth easily, "be done soon...think Donnie'll be mad if I finish it first?"

"Iie." the cat cooed. "Donnie-kun is easy-going, nya. I'm sure he'll let it off easy, nya"

The cat looked off to the side. "I hope they'll all be alright, nya. I don't want to see any of my brothers harmed, nya..." the cat looked over. "Or you, nya"

"We'll be okies," the bat reassured, turning a screw slowly.

She went silent for a few minutes before saying: "I think there's another bat in the labs...not my mother though...a male."

"Nya?" the cat looked over slightly. "Another one, nya?"

"Mm," the batgirl shifted uncomfortably, "..th'y used tu talk 'bout...matin' me n him..."

Yuri blushed, also uncomfortable. "Is he still alive, nya?"

"I dunno...I dun 'ven know wh't sorta bat he was," Betty confessed, "'nly know what th'y called him."

"Who was he, nya?" the cat asked, leaning forward, as though it were a secret.

The fruit bat girl gently shook her head from side to side, as if searching for the answer, "...they called him...Strigoi."

"Strigoi?...I'll have to remember that, nya" the cat said, getting serious. "Maybe we can free him as well, nya"

Betty shrugged, she wasn't sure..."Probably."

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Miles away from the two girls location, a black haired young man was beating the living hell out of the wall of his room, leaving deep imprints in the plaster.

To look at, he was probably in his late teens or very early 20's. He wore lose jeans but no shirt, and white a blue sneakers, a black and red baseball cap on his head. He was missing his right eye, though a bright red eye patch covered it.

He was also very, very HUNGRY! It was night time and everything in his blood was telling him that he should've been out hunting! He wanted to hunt, to taste some cattle blood, not the horrible stuff they gave him here. Steak tartar, they called it.

And he was frustrated. He needed to mate and his intended mate was missing, had been missing for the last 5 months. Died, they'd said.

It was FRUSTRATING!

He continued to pummel the wall, not noticing that his knuckles were bleeding.

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For some unknown reason Betty shivered, making her put her discarded rainbow striped sweater on once more.

Yuri's ears went back, before she gently set a gloved hand on Betty's. "We will get through this, nya...Together...ALL of us, nya"

Betty nodded slowly, she trusted Yuri and the turtles with her life.

"I needa drink," she shivered, "we make cocoa?"

Yuri smiled and nodded. "I'm sure no one will mind, nya"

They both stood up and went to the kitchen, attempting to very quietly make some cocoa.

They were...mostly successful aside from the slight noise that getting a pan from the cupboard to heat the milk caused.

Quietly, Betty searched through the kitchen cupboards and her eyes lit up when she found a particular spice.

Yuri looked over slightly. "What's that, nya?"

"Cinnamon," the bat announced happily, and added a teaspoon to the milk chocolate mixture. "Tony sh'wed me th's."

The cat shared a blissfull look at the menchen of the spice. "That perks everything up, nya" she purred. "I think Leo-kun likes it too, nya"

"Tony says s'good for you...I dunno if he's lyin but...I like the taste anyway." she chirruped gently, wating the stuff on the stove start to boil.

The cat nodded. "It is good for you, nya. That's what Master Splinter-sama tells me, nya." the cat tucked her tail in, and her ears went back playfully. "Although...ethier way...I manage to sneek the cream every time, nya"

The batgirl snickered; she really was enjoying herself tonight, even with what they were planning for tomorrow looming.

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_**Author's Note:**__ See? I promised more action, I gave you more action. And who is this bloodthirsty stranger?_


	18. Crossing the T's & Marking the Bats

_**Author's Note:**__ we're getting there, we're getting there. Violence and bloodshed coming soon._

_**Disclaimer:**__ does it count as ownership to have the TMNT gagged & tied up under your bed? No? OK, then I don't own them._

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Leo watched silently from the doorway, unnoticed by the two girls who were too wrapped up in making cocoa and chatting to notice him. He'd actually come down to get a glass of water, but had stopped at the sight of them.

Heh, how like the teenage girls on television. Truthfully he was glad Yuri'd found a friend...a female friend her own age, or apparently anyway, given Betty's actual age.

Oh well, he'd leave the glass of water for now.

He was both happy for his sister, and the bat.

For his sister, because truthfully, somehow he knew that even though she loved her brothers dearly, it was still obvious that she didn't enjoy being the only one of her kind...

For Betty...from what he had been told, Betty only had one friend before she ran into Yuri and Raph. He was glad that the bat had accepted his sister as a friend, and in turn got six loyal friends.

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Yuri sniffed the cocoa, making sure it was almost ready, before she added a slight bit of powdered sugar to the stuff.

"I only hope that once this is all over, that I can be-" she paused, blushing. "Well...I want to be..."

Betty waited patiently for an answer whilst adding some marshmallows to her cocoa, flicking a few into Yuri's playfully.

Yuri giggled, and popped a marshmallow in her mouth.

"I hope I can be...their sister once more, nya"

Betty blinked, "you mean, Leo, Mikey, Raph n Donn-ee?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side.

The cat nodded as she chewed on her marshmellow.

"Okies, jus' askin'" the bat passed some pecan syrup over. By unspoken agreement the two girls had decided that if it was midnight and you were making hot chocolate, it might as well be something sugar-rush inducing to make it worth staying up for.

Yuri gently poured some syrup over her cocoa, and set it down, near Betty. Taking up the cup, she gently smelled it, and let out a sigh of bliss.

"I just hope that someday, I'll find the right way to let them know how much I love them, nya"

"I think they know," Betty argued gently, "you say it 'often enough," and she took a sip of the sugar laden hot chocolate..."Yummies" she declared softly.

Yuri made no argument. She gently sipped her cocoa as well and mewed in contentment.

Once the cocoa was gone, Betty started to yawn, it was getting near dawn and she wanted to sleep. "C'mon, we gotta sleep now," she nudged her friend.

Yuri nodded and stood up, gently taking the mug away from the bat. "You go ahead, nya. I'll catch up," she cooed, walking over to the sink and gently setting down the drinking glasses into it.

The bat nodded and headed off to Don's room - he'd get suspicious of the trick she'd pulled to get him to sleep if she wasn't there when he woke up, she was certain.

Yuri turned and fiddled with the water slightly. Once the cups were clean, she let out a primal stretch, and sat in a chair. Slowly resting her arms and her head on the table, the cat was gone within a minute.

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Don was snoring lightly, curled up and looking so peaceful. It was apparent the turtle had no idea the bat had run off during the night.

With great care, Betty settled herself against his front and arranged it so that his arms were around her, before closing her eyes and letting herself drift off.

Feeling the warmth of the bat, the turtle unconsciously wrapped his strong arms more around her, and let off a soft loving sigh.

They remained like that for a few more hours.

Mikey, the first up for once, wandered over to Don's room and stopped to take in the cute sight, camera in hand.

Don moaned when a flash entered his eyes, and he stirred lightly. Eyes slowly opening, he caught a glimpse of Mikey's shell retreating. With a small grunt, the tech turtle attempted to resume sleeping.

Betty screwed up her eyes and attempted to bury herself in Don's plastron to block out the painful flash of light, and tugged some more of the blanket over her and Donnie.

That much made one of Donnie's hands rub up and down the bat's back, letting her cuddle deeper into his chest. At the movement of his hands, the bat started to gently make that odd, but decidedly cute, chirrup/purr combination again, clearly conveying that it was welcome, even though she was once again fast asleep.

The turtle felt good. He could let this moment go on forever. He smiled, and rest his head on hers, also once again drifting off...

By now, they'd unknowingly drawn a small crowd, all turtles.

"So...explain to me how Donnie, who'd rather sit in front of a computer than go outside, gets a girl and the rest of us stay single?"

"Probably because he's the gentlest and most understanding of the four of us, Mikey" Leo whispered. "He's the kind that will let you rant on for hours on him, and still be able to administer some sort of kind word for you"

"That an' he's the quiet one," Raph said after some thought, "bats like quiet."

"How'd you know?" Mikey questioned

"Saw it over his shoulder when he was lookin' up fruit bats."

"He'll be fine with her." Leo said. "I know he'll be loyal to her."

"So. Are we the only three without chicks now?" The playful turtle asked.

"Seems that way," Leo shrugged,

_'Speak for yourself'_ Raph thought; thinking of the kisses he and Yuri had shared in secret last night.

"Either way...those two just...fit" Leo said, smiling.

The turtles watched the cute couple for a few more minutes, before heading to the kitchen for something to eat...

"I GOTTA get a picture of this!" Mikey practically shrieked.

The shout woke both Don and Betty, who covered her ears.

"Geez, what a wake up" she thought...then smiled shyly at Don, "Mornin'" she chirruped.

Don smiled and gently kissed her nose. "Morning." he muttered, smiling softly at her. "Did you sleep ok?"

"Mmh hmm," she agreed, and kissed him on the mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck. "like te' dead." she added once they'd parted.

Don blushed, and then chuckled. "I hope not." he said, kissing her gently on the lips.

CRASH!!! SPLASH!!

Don sat up with a start. "What the-?"

"Yuri?" Betty called, "You okies?"

Silence...

"She said she will be, once she get's Mikey's head!" Raph called.

"Oh boy" Donnie muttered. "Why am I not surprised?"

Betty groaned and hid her face back against Don's front. Maybe she could get some more sleep...

Don gently wrapped his arms around the girl and rubbed her back, gently resting his head upon hers. "mmm..."

Suddenly, Betty started doing something odd. She started rubbing her cheek against his front, pawing lightly and generally acting like a cat in heat.

"What're you doing?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Want your scent on me...in case..."

"Wha-...in case of what?"

"Jus...in case," and she resumed her actions from a few minutes ago.

Don had no idea what she was talking about, but he had a feeling that she thought that one of them would perish. Gently, the turtle strengthened his embrace. "Don't worry, Betty," He whispered gently. "We'll get through this together. I promise."

Betty let him hold her. How did you explain to your mate, who was outside of your species, that you needed his scent on you to put off other males?

If Strigoi WAS alive...and, as she suspected, like her, a mutant, he might want to mark her...she NEEDED Don's scent on her.

"Bite me." she chirruped lightly, but tone deadly serious.

"Wha- what?" The tech turtle was now beyond confused, and unwilling to hurt his bat. "Why?"

"Jus' bite me, pleasies. You...you gotta mark me as ypurs before tonight or..." her scent, her mark, was on him, no other female (bat) would touch him, but the same wasn't true of her. She didn't bear his mark so…she was fair game if that other bat was around.

Don blushed, before he looked to the blankets slightly...

"Do-...I have to hurt you? It doesn't have to hurt, right?" He looked up, a worried look on his face. "I can't, and won't hurt you, Betty"

The batgirl's expression softened and she nuzzled his neck gently, "don't hafta hurt me, just...bite me and leave a mark."

The turtle paused, hesitant, before he gently took her into his arms and held her close to himself.

She wouldn't request something like this if it wasn't for a good reason, right?

Gently, a stinging sensation was felt at the top of Betty's collarbone.

The bat held very still, she didn't even make a noise, just lay there and let him bite her, then chirruped and nuzzled him once it was done.

Don paused once he was done, then gently kissed were he bit her. "It didn't hurt, did it?" he whispered.

"Nu-uh," his bat answered, and kissed his cheek, "it's okies...thankies Donnie."

Don smiled and put his nose to hers. "You're welcome..." He whispered, before gently pressing his lips to hers once more.

"'ey," Raph said, leaning on the doorframe, "if you two are done, breakfast's on th' table."

"Okies, Raph," the Betty said, unabashedly cuddling closer to Don and she did.

Don quickly blushed and smiled at Betty. "After you, my love" he said quietly.

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"OK OK! Answer this one!!" Mikey said, thinking he had it now. "If the Nightwatcher can't fly, explain how he's able to catch up with his prey! Explian THAT one!!"

"It's called skill, nya" the cat replied, gently setting a plate infront of her brother. "Somtehing you obviously don't have when it comes to Nekosanie, nya"

"I have plenty of skills...have you seen my video game scores?"

"Yeah...Betty's beaten all of 'em, by the way" Raph said, then: "Thanks Kitten," when Yuri put a plate in front of him.

"Wha-? ALL of them?"

"Anytime, nya" the cat replied, heading over towards Leo. She looked over to Mikey. "Hai! Betty-chan's even beat MY score on the ninja game Donnie-kun designed, nya. She's GOOD, nya!"

"ALL of my high scores?"

"All of 'em," the red-clad turtle confirmed

Yuri gave off a soft smile, as Mikey let depression sit in. "Don't worry, Mikey-kun, nya" she mewed. "Your still number one to me, nya"

"I thought that the Nightwatcher was number one to you, sis...besides, I don' like ya that way"

"NOT THAT WAY, BAKA, NYA!!"

"I'll challenge you if you want your title back, Mikey." the batgirl suddenly chirruped, close to the side of his head.

Mikey nearly fell off his chair in surprise, "Where'd you come from?"

"You should ask Splinter that," Betty smiled at him playfully

Mikey blinked, and looked over to Master Splinter, who chuckled and nodded.

"Well at least some of us are using the morning wisely." Don said, as Yuri set his plate in front of him.

"What way is that?" Mikey asked.

"Being useful" Don muttered playfully.

"I'm jokin', Mikey." Betty said and gave him a friendly, quick kiss to the cheek.

"Hey, not in front of Donnie."

"Mikey, its called flattery." Leo teased.

"Well who else beside Betty and Don can-"

"Guys?"

Everyone looked

"Yeah?"

"Can we just not argue over the table this time, nya? I'd really enjoy it if we could all get along today, nya."

"Sorry, Yuri," Betty spoke up sincerely. (Her sweater neatly hid the mark Donatello had left of her, but she was feeling exceedingly happy this morning.)

Yuri purred slightly at the bat. "nonono, YOU did nothing wrong, nya" the cat cooed, smiling.

"Well, sorry anyway," Leo said, "but it wasn't really arguing, just...joking around."

"But it still should not be done at the breakfast table." Splinter reminded them.

Yuri finally put the sixth plate down, before she sat next to Raph and Leo.

"Bon, appetite, nya" she cooed, practically whispering.

"Bil haná wal shifá," the bat said politely. ("may you have your meal with gladness and health")

"I swear she doesn't use real words sometimes," Mikey muttered to Don.

"It's ARABIC," Don muttered back.

The cat quickly shot the Orange clad turtle a look from where she sat.

"Just saying!" Mikey defended himself.

Betty, unperturbed, ate her breakfast slowly.

The rest of the turtles ate their breakfast politely, contraire to their usual eating habits.

The cat, however, only sipped at her tea.

Don looked over to Betty with a small smile on his face.

Surreptitiously, she winked at him slowly. (Though Splinter noticed, but said nothing. He thought it was cute)

Donnie smiled and rubbed his foot against hers affectionately.

Mikey moved to say something, but stopped at the fact that most everyone would probably pounce on his shell.

"Minna, Syoanara, Gomenusai, nya..." the cat muttered over towards the bat. "Arushitaru, Tomodachi, nya"

"Uhib uki," the bat muttered back to her friend, whilst playing footsie with Don("I love you" [female)

Don didn't understand what the conversation was, but he was sure glad Betty was happy.

The cat smiled, before returning to her tea, slightly bumping her own foot on Raph's.

The red-clad turtle nearly jumped, but held it together well...and hesitantly returned the gesture.

The cat soon pulled her foot away, staring hard at her teacup.

Gently, Betty sniffed the air...yep...definitely a lot of pheromones coming from both Raph and Yuri...the combined scent was...nice. They suited each other.

Yuri however, was barely begining to softly...softly...ever so SOFTLY, growl. She was focused on her tea, and she could swear she could see a pair of emerald eyes staring at her.

Gently, Betty nudged her in the side and whispered "Okies?"

Yuri jumped slightly, before she nodded at Betty. "Hai" she whispered back.

"You...smell somethin'?" the bat asked curiously

Yuri shook her head slightly. "I'm thinking, nya" she cooed softly. "Wondering whether or not I can do this, nya"

The batgirl reached down and gave Yuri's hand a squeeze, "we be okies...'s good plan."

Yuri smiled and squeezed the bat's hand back. "Do you really think i'll make a good leader, nya?" she whispered as softly as she could.

"Mm," the bat confirmed with a nod.

The cat smiled at her friend, before giving her hand one last squeeze. "At your service, nya"

All four turtle were watching the two girls; despite the close range they were speaking softly so that only the other could hear.

It was bizarre really.

They sort of wished they knew what the two were talking about.

Don looked over to Raph, as if requesting knowledge of what was going on, who shrugged in reply since he couldn't hear either. For all he knew, it was "girl talk"

Finally, both girls sat up, Yuri starting to retreat from the table.

Betty followed, whispering something to the cat that made them both snicker.

"Girls are weird," Mikey announced, watching them go.

Yuri's ears perked. "Sometimes I wonder if Nekosanie & Master Splinter-sama are the only intelligent males in New York, nya" the cat cooed to her friend, winking at Mikey.

"'It's possible," the bat agreed good naturedly, "though Tony's pretty smart."

"And Donnie-kun's a genius...and Leo-kun's wise in his own way, nya"

"Guess 's just Mikey," the batgirl chirruped, "'cos Raph has his moments."

Yuri giggled and looked back towards her family, before disappearing into the kitchen.

Mikey practically sweat dropped. "Jerkettes..." he muttered.

Betty vanished off back to her bunker, after thanking them for letting her stay and that she'd see them later.

"Not staying longer?" Leo asked.

"I got somethin' I need to do..."

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_Author's Note: I'm drawing it out too long, aren't I? Well, there's comedy in the next chapter. MWAHahahahaaaa! (coughs)_


	19. Blushing Turtle

_**Author's Note:**__ I umm'ed and aah'ed about including this one. But I liked it so much that I had to._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Alright, alright, I hereby make the following announcement, (sulky voice)...but I do so...(gun clicks)...ah...of my own freewill. I don't own TMNT_

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"Ya think she'll be ok?" Mikey asked, kicking at Leo.

"I'm not sure." Don said, working on the laptop. "Maybe one of us should check on her." he suggested.

"Not a bad idea, nya" Yuri said, trying to punch Raph. "But you're staying here, nya"

"Oh? Why?"

Yuri slide kicked Raph, before turning to Don, a serious look on her face. "I understand that you deeply care for Betty-chan, but She needs that laptop tonight, and it needs to be in top shape, nya. After you're done with that, YOU need to be in top shape, nya." the cat ordered.

"Oh I see...you're telling me to finish this and get some more sleep, huh?"

"I agree with her," Raph blocked a punch.

Yuri quickly leapt over Raph and kicked at his shell. "I need to practice more, so I can be ready nya." she cooed, before looking over to Leo. "If it's alright...I'd prefer if Leo-kun checked on Betty-chan, nya"

"Huh?" Leo paused in his sword practice, "Me?"

"Why ya sendin' Leo?" Mikey asked, pausing his game.

Yuri grabbed Raph's wrist as he prepared to puch her, and looked over to her brothers.

"Because he's already prepared, nya. Besides, I'm sure Betty-chan doesn't want to be disturbed, and he's the quietest one when it comes to watching, nya" the cat looked over. "You can resume your training when you get back, nya"

With a shrug Leo sheathed his swords and exited the lair, towards the bunker where Betty lived.

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The bunker was quiet, but the light was just about visible under the door. Quietly, he opened the door without a sound.

Betty was at the table, biro in hand, scribbling away in a small book.

Leo paused. What could she possibly be doing? Wasn't she nervous about the upcoming night?

Every now and then, the bat would look at her right hand, the one not holding a pen, for a few seconds, then scribble for a few more minutes, then look at her hand again

What the shell is going on? Leo wondered

Eventually, she stopped and turned a page, letting her hand drop to her side, and tapped her pen against her mouth in a thoughtful gesture. Then she took a long drink from a bottle of juice on the table in front of her then seemed to get inspired and started scribbling again.

Leo quickly took a peek at the time on his shell cell. Would she stay there all day?

As it turned out, a few seconds later, Betty put her pen down and took a towel from the makeshift clothes line before disappearing into the bathroom, accompanied a few seconds later by the sound of running water...leaving her book open on the table.

"Oh great" Leo muttered to himself, slightly blushing. "It's a good thing I didn't arrive later than this..."

He suddenly heard the lock of the bathroom door click into place...it seemed Betty'd quickly picked up on the fact that turtles and Yuri would drop by at random.

The book on the table was piquing his curiosity though.

With a gentle nudge, the out-of-place lead turtle pushed the door open and looked around slightly. He made his way over to the book, and peered down at it.

It was a biro drawing of one of his swords...a detailed biro drawing but, nothing more harmful than that. Bemused he turned to the page he'd seen her drawing on first.

Another biro drawing, this time of...oh, it was Betty's own hand, that explained her earlier actions of looking back and forth.

He kind of had to admit; the bat had a lot of talent, if only in biros.

Impressed, the turtle continued to turn the pages...until he got to one that made him gawk.

A few small sketches of his brothers and Yuri...there was one unfinished one though that said "Leo - moved"

Leo tilted his head. "What dose that mean?" he said quietly to himself

"Means that you moved," Betty's voice told him calmly.

He spun around and found the batgirl standing behind him, wrapped in a large white towel. Drops of water making her hair sparkle a little.

"Oh- uh" Leo quickly bowed slightly, and turned his head away. "Sorry about that, Betty"

"Uh?" she blinked at him, "you were lookin' thru my book, rite? S'okies, I don't mind."

"Thank you, Betty," the turtle replied, "But I meant, I'm sorry for walking in on you"

"Well, kinda wish you'd knocked first so I could got juice for you, but s'okies," the bat didn't seem to understand the problem about her being in only a towel in his company.

Leo blushed. He didn't want to go through the whole boy/girl thing...If Don had been there, he'd have killed him. "Thanks Betty. I'd like that" he said softly, still looking away.

"You okies?" Betty asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch, but imperceptibly so.

"I'm fine, thanks Betty." He said quietly. "Um...do you want me to step out so you can dress?" he asked, feeling really embarrassed for walking in on her like this. If Yuri knew about this...

"Why?" she asked, sounding as if he'd just said something strange.

Leo blushed even more. "uhm...you might wanna talk to Yuri about that..." He said shyly

"Uhm...I'm gonna step out." he said, turning. "You can tell me once you've gotten dressed."

"Hey, can you pass me my white shirt?" the bat asked, "It's on the' sofa"

"Certainly" he murmured, gently grabbing the shirt, and holding it out, without turning.

"You're actin' weird," the bat said, taking it from him, out of the corner of his eye, he could just about see that she'd ditched the towel...that made him blush deeper

"Is it 'cos of my scars?" she asked, tugged the long shirt over her head.

"No, it's not that, I swear!" He said, keeping his vision on the floor. "It's just...well...I seriously think you should talk to Yuri about this..."

"'bout what?"

Leo blushed even more, looking like a beat and feeling like a heel.

"I-...I just want to be modest, Betty"

"What's 'modest' mean?"

Seriously? She didn't know?

"Um..." Leo drummed his fingers together trying to word this right.

"Uh...I want you to keep your innocence..."

"You're talkin' in riddles," the bat growled, lowly, "stop it and gimme straight talk."

Leo blushed. "Seriously, you're gonna have to talk to Yuri about this" he muttered, stepping out.

"You're talkin' 'bout seein' me outta th' shower?" Betty called after a few seconds of thought.

Silence.

"Ye-...yeah"

"What's the problem with that?"

"...Betty," he groaned, "you were naked! In front of me!"

"Yeah..." the bat replied in a 'duh' tone, "and?"

"PLEASE just talk about this with Yuri! Not Don, Not Mikey, Not Raph, YURI!!!"

"Lotsa people have seen me naked," the bat said suddenly.

Leo gasped, before turning red. "Oh shell, no" he muttered, before sliding down the wall.

"If you worked in lab 7," Betty continued,

Leo sighed. He was beginning to wish he wasn't the lead turtle...

"No clothes for the' animal, Leo," Betty said quietly

"I understand for animals, Betty...but when you look like a human, it's different"

"I didn't hive 'any clothes 'fter I looked human either."

"Then they didn't take proper care of you...figures..." the lead turtle said. "Well TGRI's getting punished anyways, so we'll deal with it from there..."

"So...you went red 'cos you saw me inna towel? Silly. S'just skin...not even pretty skin."

Leo felt like fainting. How do you explain this to a female, when you're a MALE?!   "Betty...it's pretty-" WHAT THE SHELL DID I SAY THAT FOR?!?! "But-...you're a female...This really needs to be discussed with another female."

"Okies,"  Just that, nothing else...then: "I'm gonna sleep now."

"Ok...I'll tell Yuri that you're alright." Leo paused. "Be safe Betty. I'll see you tonight, my friend."

"B'byes," the batgirl leaned out of the doorway to wave him off, before closing the door firmly.

Leo sighed in relief...how the shell was he supposed to tell this to Yuri...or Don for that matter?

The misplace lead turtle decided he'd better explain to the temporary leader before anything else. Most likely, Don would pounce on him at best...at worst...Leo'd probably find himself on the receiving end of an attempt to make him a sticky mess on the floor.

Either way he was gonna get it, his mind thought as he slowly entered the lair

With luck, it was Yuri who found him first, Don having apparently gone to bed to catch some more sleep.

"Konichi'wa, Leo-kun" the cat cooed. "Raph-kun's waiting to train with-...are you ok, nya?" the cat quickly put her hand to his forehead. "Are you running somthing, nya?"

"Jus'..." shell, how did you put this..."...minor incident with Betty...she's alright!" he added quickly before Yuri could ask what was wrong.

The cat paused slightly. "Are you alright, nya?"

"Fine, fine just...umm..." he cringed, "uh..." he started, "Yuri...I need to talk with you."

Yuri paused and cringed. "Does this have to do with me temporarily being the leader, nya?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" he reassured quickly, "No it's about when I went over...I looked at Betty's sketch book...and..." shell this was hard...

Yuri tilted her head gently. "Nya?"

"She was in the shower and she caught me...and..."

The cat seemed to catch on to what he was saying. "NANI Q-"

Leo quickly held Yuri and set a hand over her mouth. "shhh!! I didn't mean to!" he whispered.

Yuri seemed to calm down after a while, and looked up at him. "Did you apologise nya?"

Yes, I did! Of course I did!...she doesn't understand 'modesty' though!"

Yuri took this in, before she blushed slightly. "Oh...so you want me to-...well...explain to her, nya?"

"Please!" the lead turtle blushed deeper

Yuri nodded, and giggled. "Don't get yer shell in a bunch, nya. You're loyal little sister is on the case, nya" she giggled, before giving him a sisterly peck on the cheek.

"Raph-kun's waiting for you, nya"

"Thanks Yuri," he gave her a grateful smile and bolted off to train.

Yuri smiled at her two brothers, gave a peace sign towards them, and ran out of the lair. She snickered slightly.

Poor Leo-kun!

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The batgirl was sleeping under the covers of her bed...Yuri was mildly surprised when she moved the blanket and found the batgirl's feet on the pillow instead of her head

Yuri paused, before she smiled softly. Her friend was so cute, and so innocent. It kind of put the cat to competition. The cat gently sat by the bat and gently set Fuzz by the bat.

Sometimes I wish I could have my heart as pure as hers, nya The cat thought to herself.

The bat shifted to the side, dragging most of her blanket with her and uncovering her face.

Her nose twitched a little, then she stirred and yawned. "Hey Y'ri," she murmured, sitting up groggily

"Konichi'wa" the cat cooed. "Sorry to wake you, nya"

"S'okies," Betty rubbed her eyes, "s'up?"

"I heard Leo-kun was here a half hour ago, nya"

"Mm hm, he's weird."

Yuri giggled. "Not as weird as Mikey-kun, nya!" the cat giggled. "or my Nekosanie, nya"

"S'wrong then?" the bat queried.

Yuri blushed slightly. "Um. I was asked to talk to you nya..."

"...About?"

Yuri blushed a little more, and proceeded to explain.

"...so, this is 'bout me runnin' into Leo naked?" Betty asked eventually.

Yuri nodded. "Hai." the cat answered. "He was pretty spooked by it, nya"

"I'll hafta shut my eyes next time."

Yuri chuckled slightly, before setting a hand on Betty's.

"I…dun see what the' problem is...I'm always naked under my clothes."

Yuri blushed, and smiled slightly. "Well...you look like a human now, nya" she cooed. "And in human terms, they usually keep there clothes on for modesty, nya"

She saw she wasn't getting anywhere...

"Basically, if a human is naked, and the opposite gender sees, it's usually a request to mate, nya"

"OH!" THAT she understood. "Okies...so I gotta be naked when I wanna mate with Donnie, yes?"

Yuri blushed again. "Well yeah, but you have to ask him first, nya." she winked. "And make sure yer alone, too, nya"

"Gotcha," the bat nodded, then yawned again

Yuri smiled and nuzzled her friend. "Do you want me to getcha when we're readdy, or should I just train outside of your bunker, nya?"

"You can come and get me, thankies," the batgirl settled back under the covers and was soon asleep again.

Yuri purred, and gently set Fuzz beside Betty, before quickly and quietly exiting the bunker.

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_**Author's Note:**__ God, I LOVED torturing Leo! The guy's just so straight-laced and uptight; he's the perfect victim for this sort of thing._


	20. Tonight's the Night

_**Author's Note:**__ Whooo! Excitement! Finally! And you find out a little more on Yuri's background (seriously, you want to know more about her go to yuri-blaze[dotdeviantart[dotcom, OK? It's a good read)_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Still don't own TMNT, mores the pity._

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Leo kicked Raph in the stomach and then flipped over his brother. "What exactly have you been doing during night time, Raph? I know you've been sneaking out"

"It's none-a ya business, Fearless One," Raph retorted, tripping Leo with a kick

Leo quickly got up and punched at Raph. "It is when I know who you're tailing all the time." He said, frowning. "What's going on?"

"Leave it, Leo," Raph blocked it.

Leo frowned harder, slide kicking Raph. "I ask you...give me a good reason"

Raph back flipped, "I ain't gotta explain anything to ya, Leo."

"Then explain why Yuri's suddenly so shy around you"

"I dunno." he lied, feeling uneasy, " can we focus on tonight's plan instead?"

Leo frowned slightly, looking deep into his brother's eyes. He was hiding something...something that might come back to bite them all...

"Leo-kun? Raph-kun?"

The two turtles looked over slightly.

The cat and Mikey were watching them. "I already said three times to switch, nya"

"Sorry, Kitten," Raph sweat-dropped, "who's up ta train w' me?"

"Well it's Mikey-kun's turn, but seeing how worn out you are, maybe we should train, then you can get a nap in, nya" the cat said, eyes telling him she had heard.

"Great! Me and the big turtle!" Mikey cheered, whipping his nunchucks out. "Prepare yerself, big brother!" he teased.

Raph rolled his eyes, but obediently swapped.

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Hours later, trained and refreshed from sleep...they were ready to go.

Gear packed up, the specially crafted, lightweight; laptop was tucked under Betty's arm. The batgirl herself was subdued, the knowledge of what would happen tonight clear in her mind.

A matter of minutes to get to the TGRI building, the batgirl shivered at the sight of it, it was almost as creepy to her on the outside as it had been disturbing on the inside

"You alright?" Don asked softly, whilst Leo and Raph tried to locate the window to the furnace room.

Betty nodded, a serious look on her face, "As I'll ever be."

Don gently set his hand on Betty's, and gave her a gentle look. He looked over to Mikey. "You'd better take good care of her," he muttered.

"Don't worry, bro" the fun turtle replied. "I'll keep her as safe as the crown jewels!"

Yuri stepped up, and studied the building. It was so haunting...and evil. She wanted to rip it apart, and punish those dark hearted people. For Betty...For her brothers...for her Father...for-...

"Before we go, please know that I love you all, nya"

Betty hugged her with her free arm "we love you too, Yuri." she purred softly.

"Found it," Leo hissed, motioning for them to come with him.

A small unguarded, but black out window, close to street level, was the only opening

"You know what you're doing?" he said to Betty.

"Get in, turn the systems off." she replied, in a determined voice and, with great reverence, handed him her laptop and proceeded to climb through the window.

There was a soft 'oof' as she landed...then hands reached up for the laptop.

"OK, Mikey,"

Michelangelo obediently climbed...OK, struggled...through the window.

The furnace room lived up to its name; it was dark, warm and lit only by a single large furnace. Betty was on the floor, already hooking up wires to a small wall panel, then sat and started tapping away at the keyboard.

Lights came on but went out before sirens could sound. The virus she and Don had created was working splendidly so far.

Yuri looked up, with a serious look on her face, ready to scout once Betty was ready for her and Raph.

"Guys!" Mikey's voice suddenly hissed via the shell cells, "Betty says you're good to go! Read me? Good to go!"

"Arigato, nya" Yuri muttered gently, before running inside and back flipping over some machinery. She looked this way and that, determined to find safe entrances.

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Strigoi was...interested. He'd just found that the door to his room was unlocked. Unusual because it was always locked unless someone was bringing him food, wrapping his bleeding knuckles or bringing his clothes back (not that he saw the need for clothes, though).

Might have something to do with the red lights going on an off, he reasoned, but who cared? His door was open! He could go hunting!

For the first time for months, he left his room and set off in search of prey.

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Yuri sniffed slightly as she easily squeezed through a narrow opening, and her ears perked slightly. No alarms...no humans...no security robots...

So why did she feel strange?

Something...zipped past her down a corridor...too quickly for her to see...

Yuri quickly flinched, and sniffed the air. The cat growled...an unfamiliar scent...and unwelcome...

The cat slowly got on all fours and advanced slightly. "Nyou..."

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Strigoi, unaware, ducked into a lab, he could SMELL the fresh blood in here. He wanted it! He was HUNGRY!

And then he recognised a scent...the mate's scent...coming from the old cage in the corner. The doctors had brought him down once and let him scent it, telling him that the female whose scent it was would have been his mate if she hadn't died...

…Time for regrets later...THERE! There in the fridge was a bag of bovine blood.

Yuri silently started to walk past the room...till she saw HIM. Nani!? The cat slightly walked towards the door, watching the creature devouring something hungrily. She sniffed the air. This wasn't human...

Strigoi chirruped happily, REAL FOOD filling his stomach for the first time in ages, some of it spattering on his face as he drank eagerly.

FINALLY! The empty feeling in his stomach was finally going away!

Yuri started to walk towards him, before she accidentally sliced her shoulder on a sticking out knife. "nya..." she winced, attention turned to her bleeding shoulder.

Strigoi stiffened. Then he sniffed and turned...Blood...

Bright black eyes met Yuri's clear blue ones.

The boy still had blood on his fangs; it dripped from his chin...

Yuri turned her attention back to the bat...and gasped. Tacking a step back, she convinced herself he wasn't going to hurt her...at-at-at least...that's what her positive thinking told her.

Striogoi stared. A human...no...a cat...a human cat?...Strigoi felt confused but only for a moment...another scent that wasn't this person's...but was ON this person caught his attention...He advanced slightly and drew in the scent...

...The mate...she had the mate's scent on her...

"You...smell of...my mate..." he said in a voice that was a combination of human and bat growl...

Yuri took another step back. "Na-Nani?" the cat whispered. She looked towards her bleeding shoulder, then back to the advancing bat before her. She continued to back up until she was against the wall. "Wh-...What do you mean, nya? I'm here to rescue you, nya"

"You...smell...like HER..." he continued, "...You...SMELL like the one that died..."

Yuri let out a soft mew of fright, unable to comprehend what this bat wanted.

Wait...he was a- was he the one Betty told her about?

"Where...is...she?" he asked, "Where is...my...intended...mate?"

Before the cat could reply he took off, catching more of the scent...it was coming from somewhere else...

He didn't bother trying to drink Yuri's blood. Vampire bats didn't eat cat or human blood.

Yuri whipped out her shell cell. "Raph-kun! I've got a rouge creature headed your way, nya! I'm not sure what he wants, nya! Huh?" The cat gasped as she turned around.

A cage...just about big enough to stand up and sit down, took up the corner of the room.

The scent...smelt like Betty.

The cat gasped as realization hit her. HE was Strigoi! He had smelt Betty on her!

Suddenly she heard a weapon cock behind her...Slag...

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Raph looked over to the others. "Kitten just informed me that a rouge is headed our way. She can't keep up with 'im, and she's not sure what he wants."

"Get on to Mikey" Leo said, "warn him that he and Betty may have to move to somewhere else.:

"And inform Yuri that we have to pause plan two until Betty and Mikey relocate" Don said, studying the building.

"I'm on it," and he dialled the number for Mikey's shell cell.

A few seconds later it was answered, Raph explanied quickly

"Gotcha, I'll call ya when we've moved to a new place." and he hung up. "c'mon Betty, let's haul shell, we need to move it."

"Okies..." the batgirl pulled the plugs from the wall sockets and picked up her lap top, "let's go"

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Towards the basement level, Strigoi stopped...the scent was richer here...the mate was near...getting nearer.

He hid, waiting; the mate was coming to him...

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"Where's safe around here?" Mikey asked as he and Betty quickly, but quietly made their way up from the furnace room.

"Anywhere empty and unlocked!"

"Right, good plan!"

Mikey then became so busy looking for unlocked doors that he didn't hear Betty's gasp of surprised...and then the laptop hit the floor.

"Betty?" he called, looking around, "c'mon Bets, this isn't time for hide and seek!" he looked around again...aww Shell!

"Raph!" he said into his shell cell, "we...kind of have a problem here..."

"What? What Is it? Is the laptop not workin' or somethin'?"

"It's not that...it's...it's…it's"

"WELL What is it?!" Raph asked impatiently

"Something snatched Betty!"

"What?!"

"What?!" Don echoed Raph. "What happened?!"

"I was looking for a right door, I turned around and she wasn't there, man!"

Don growled lightly.

"Which part of "protect her" did you not get, Mikey?!" he demanded, "what happened to looking after her like the crown jewels?!"

"Hey, I only turned my back for a second!"

"Arguing isn't going to find her," Leo interrupted, "We'll split up, Don you go meet up with Mikey, help him find Betty, Raph, you and I'll go and find Yuri"

"Right!" the other two agreed.

Don snatched the phone. "Stay there Mikey, and for all that's decent, DON'T do anything stupid!" he hissed.

"Hey!" Mikey protested, sounding hurt

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Meanwhile, Yuri was trying to get free of the clamps that held her down.

The cat growled lowly to herself. Leo would NEVER respect her for this...And Master splinter would hate her...huh?

She started to go still...those eyes...Yuri bared her teeth. "Who are you, nya?" she growled.

"Did I fail to introduce myself?" The man said, it would've been a pleasant voice...if it hadn't chilled her to the bone, It was...vaguely familiar. "Goodman is the name, m'dear, Kitty."

Yuri trembled slightly. "What do you want, nya?" She murmured...That voice...THAT VOICE!!!

"...just a little blood," the doctor responded calmly.

Yuri's eyes went wide. no...it couldn't be...She remembered…

_"This fluid is packed with human DNA and a special chemical to infuse your DNA with it. If you survive, you'll be one level up on our experiment. But if you're as weak as you're siblings, well then its all darkness from there!"_

NO!!!

---------------------------------------------------

"Mate," Strigoi purred/growled at the female held tightly in his arms, "I found you,"

Betty could only make inarticulate sounds with his hand over her mouth. She couldn't even struggle at the arm around her waist, though not for lack of trying, he was too strong.

"You died, but you came back." he continued, sounding apprehensive, "he said you were supposed to be my mate but you died...and now you're back! I suppose...I need to show him you're back to life!" and he started to half carry half drag her up the corridor.

Betty wanted to cry, she wanted to scream...she wanted her Donnie...

-----------------------------------


	21. The Nightmare Ends

Author's Note: it's all getting terribly exciting, isn't it?

Disclaimer: you know I don't own them, they know I don't own them. I just wish that I did.

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Yuri winced as the needle was sharply taken out of her, and then a small amount of pink fluid was inserted into her wound. Yuri's ears began to droop...this felt like...NO!

She yowled as the computer beeped.

_Subject 4-U-R-1-5... found_... it flashed.

The door suddenly burst open and the boy from earlier entered...holding Betty tightly. (The two girls stared at each other, giving each other a hopeless look)

"Look, Doctor," he announced, "I found the mate! She's alive again!"

For the first time, the doctor actually seemed surprised.

"Well, well, well," he said, forgetting the catgirl and heading to the bat, "so I see...well, put her down, Strigoi, let me see her."

Immediately, the batboy dropped her, but tried to do it gently.

"So," Doctor Goodman grabbed Betty, hard, by the hair, forcing her to look at him, "my little lost bat is alive and came home to roost."

"LET HER GO, NYA!!" Yuri hissed. "She's done NOTHING to you, nya!"

"Oh, she's EVERYTHING to do with me, Kitty," the doctor kept his grip on the batgirl's hair, pulling hard enough to cause pain, judging by the tears forming at the corners of her big brown eyes, "She's my most successful experiment after Strigoi here...you see, it's interesting how two different strains of the same species mutate in a similar way...better than say...a cat."

Strigoi, meanwhile, was watching this rough treatment of his intended mate...it was occurring to him that he didn't like seeing her in pain...Why was the doctor hurting his mate? You treated mates gently, you nuzzled and licked and cooed at them; you DIDN'T hurt them.

Yuri paused. "YOU!!! YOU BAKA NYA!!" she hissed. "Let her GO! I won't forgive you, nya!!!"

"Pah! To be perfectly honest, your forgiveness means very little, Kitty. Your DNA however, will help me breed more of you...and my two little bats will procreate all by themselves. It's unfortunate that your mother and siblings got away, Kitty, because THEY would've helped a lot."

It was at this point Betty bit him, which caused him to shout in pain and toss her away from him, making her tumble and crash into the wall with a sickening CRACK! Knocking her unconscious.

"Wretched animal," the scientist growled...not noticing that Strigoi was now growling deep in his throat.

Bringer of food or not, this person had just hurt his potential mate...

Strigoi lunged...

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The screaming brought Leo and Raph running to the right lab...it wasn't a pretty sight.

A boy with blood on his face was cooing in concern over an unconscious Betty, whilst what possibly used to be a living human man (it was hard to tell, what with the throat having been ripped out) lay on the floor beside a table where Yuri was strapped.

"Did we miss something?" Raph asked weakly.

Yuri didn't even hear Raph. Her head was down, and there was a river of tears streaming down her cheeks, and she was growling ever so lowly.

Why?...What had she done?...What had Betty done?...What had ANY of them done?!

It wasn't fair...to be...unpure...

"Hey, Kitten," Raph whispered, unbuckling her, picking her up and holding her close, "shh, it's ok, Kitten, I'm here now, don't cry."

Leo, meanwhile, turned his attention to the boy.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying not to startle him.

"...Strigoi." the boy answered after awhile, "...I killed him...I killed the doctor...I didn't _mean_ to...he...he...HURT her...he HURT my intended..."

Leo felt a pang of worry. He killed the Doctor? Oh that was going to be PERFECT, wasn't it? It wouldn't be long before lab assistance found out, and the Police investigated...

This day just kept getting better and better didn't it?

He slowly kneeled by the batboy. "Save it for later, Strigoi. Right now we have to get you and the girls to safety."

"Iie, nya"

Betty remained out cold. She really was glass jawed and Strigoi refused to let anyone else pick her up.

Whilst holding her...he found another scent...Oh...his world suddenly became much smaller...she'd found a mate already...His intended...didn't want him...

Yuri suddenly broke from Raph and unsheathed her blades. "Iie...Iie..." she repeated over and over, shakily taking some steps back.

But the batboy didn't move to attack, instead he just looked...sad

The cat looked up towards the three males, blinded by her tears. "dan diao, nya...tustie...TUSTIE?!" She got into a defensive position.

"Kitten," Raph neatly disarmed and grabbed her, "shhh, calm down, it's OK now."

A small noise came from Betty, "sssss," she said, groggily, eyes closed, "sssss'o-okie'sss?"

Yuri looked up at him with a dark glare..."Iie! MINNA!! IIE MONUGINA!!!" she yelled, struggling from his grasp.

"Yuri!" Leo snapped, as Raph kept his grip firm, "Calm down!"

"Y'ri," the batgirl mumbled, "you're...hurtin'...m'...ears."

Strigoi remained silent, tears running from his one healthy eye.

Yuri finally sank to her knees, before continuing to cry.

It was wrong...it was ALL WRONG!!

Why did it hurt?

Betty was the one who had the right to be angry, not her...  and yet still...

She hated...for the first time in her life...she HATED...

"I won't forgive you, nya" she choked.

"Let's go, Kitten," Raph said, helping her to her feet, "let's do what we came here to do...then we'll go home."

Strigoi didn't say anything at all, but he didn't relinquish his hold on the other bat. His world had just been thrown into complete chaos and he was at a loss of what to do.

"Raph! Leo! We couldn't..." Mikey trailed off, "never mind."

"Betty!" Don rushed in...and stopped as the boy holding his bat back away timidly.

Don slowly backed down, but kept his eyes on Betty. Scanning her quickly, to make sure the bat wasn't harmed in ANY way.

Yuri looked up slightly. "Tustie? Nekosanie...tustie?" she muttered only for him to hear.

"I don't know Kitten," Raph replied equally as softly, "but it's happened, we can't change it, we have to move on," then he picked her up and whispered into her ear, "I love ya, Kitten."

Yuri burst into fresh tears, burying her face in Raph's neck repeating "Gomenusai" over and over, till she finally cried herself to sleep.

Strigoi stared at Don warily with his single eye..."You...have...your scent on her..." He told the purple-clad turtle in a soft, solemn voice.

Don paused. So this was the 'just in case' Betty had mentioned...Shell. "I'm...Betty's mate" he replied softly.

The boy nodded, tears still coming from his one eye, but, timidly, he held out the barely conscious batgirl to Don. "Take her" he said sadly.

Don gently took Betty from the male bat, and studied him slightly. "You're hurt...Come with us."

Mikey looked over. "What about the animals? Our furry leader will be a little upset if we forget about them." He pointed out.

"Raph and Donatello will take Yuri, Betty and Strigoi back to the lair," Leo spoke up, "Mikey and I will get the animals out."

"And will someone tell me," Mikey said, "what happened to that guy?" he was pointing to the mess that used to be Goodman.

"I ate him." Strigoi said quietly, lacking any emotion.

Mikey flinched and hid behind Leo's shell. "You're...You're kidding, right?" Mikey trembled, staring at the male bat.

"Kumbyato, nya" Yuri muttered in her state of 'sleep'

"What do you expect? I'm a vampire," Strigoi answered with a shrug, "and he was attacking someone I thought was my mate. Do the maths."

Strigoi's speech was much clearer than Betty's, now that it wasn't on a high from being freed it's accent clearly came through as part Romanian, part New York.

Mikey nearly fainted at this, as he continued to hide behind his eldest brother.

Don looked over to Leo. "Should we wait for you outside, or should we head back to the Lair?"

"W'na g' h'me," Betty announced, cuddling closer to Don's front.

"Head back," Leo told him, "We'll meet you."

Raph and Don nodded, while carefully holding 'their' girls, and escorting Strigoi out.

Mikey looked over to Leo. "I...I think you were kinda rough, bro"

"I just...can't believe how calmly he announced that he...ATE someone...and now we'll have to cover it up..."

"Say the animals did it." Mikey said.

"The animals are innocent, Mikey. Besides, do you really want to have them all recaptured, put to sleep, and explain to Yuri that we blamed them?" Leo asked, beginning to walk.

"...You have a point..." Mikey said, following. "By the way, did you notice how out of it the girls were? It was almost as if they were drugged, or something!"

"Donnie will check them over...and Strigoi will probably answer any questions we've got."

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Strigoi was, in fact, standing still, staring up at the sky in wonder.

"Ey, c'mon," Raph growled, lifting the manhole cover, "what's th' matter? Ya never seen th' sky before?"

"Not like this, "the batboy answered softly," I've never been outside..."

"Well don't get used to it." Don said, trying to figure out a way to get the girls in without hurting them. "We hardly ever come to the surface, unless it's urgent, or for training."

Raph solved it by climbing down first and taking Strigoi down with him to hold Yuri whilst he took Betty as Don climbed down.

"Where are we going?" the boy asked, uncertainly.

"We're going to our lair...our home" Donnie said, gently taking Betty from Raph's grip. "You would be wise to keep a respective eye when we get there." he carefully warned.

Strigoi nodded and followed obediently. He didn't chatter or try to run away, just followed silently. His single eye was dull.

Yuri suddenly shifted in his grip, and muttered "Nekosanie, Iie" softly, then started speaking randomly in Japanese.

"We better get her home soon," Raph said worriedly.

"It's not too far now," Don replied, keeping a close eye on the vampire bat and a frim grip on the fruit bat.

"How's Betty, Don?" raph asked, looking over.

"I think she just hit her head pretty hard." the tech turtle replied. "Still...I don't want a repeat of what happened two months ago, do you?"

"No..." Raph shook his head, not again, he couldn't almost lose Yuri again.

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"My sons..." Splinter started, and then stopped when he saw Yuri, Betty and an unknown boy enter with them, "WHAT happened?"

Don gently set Betty down in front of himself, and kneeled, Raph doing the same.

"Master Splinter...During the rescue, Betty and Yuri were captured. Betty's hit her head pretty hard, and Yuri-...well...I'm not sure about Yuri. I may have to take a blood sample." the tech Turtle explained. He motioned towards the batboy. "This is Strigoi. He's one of TGRI's experiments. Mikey and Leo are currently in the process of freeing the animals, and gathering the experiments..."

Strigoi looked up at the mention of his name but then looked back down.

Splinter stared at the boy. He seemed...terribly, terribly lost and kept glancing at Betty and away again.

Splinter sighed slightly. "Young bat, I must ask you not to leave this dojo until granted to do so" he said in a level voice. "Donatello. aid Betty and your sister."

The boy didn't answer but hugged his knees, looking exceedingly vulnerable for someone who looked to be quite strong.

"Yes, Sensei," Don said, standing. "Raph, bring Yuri?"

Raph nodded, and picked up the trembling cat, follwing Don.

Splinter slowly advanced on Strigoi and studied him. He didn't seem like the aggressive type at the moment, but something about him was bugging the rat. Of course...he could be wrong...but better to keep safe.

The boy mumbled something so Splinter leaned closer, "I am sorry?"

"What am I going to do?" he repeated, "I don't...I don't want to go back but...I've nowhere else...I can't..."

"You are welcome here, until you find a home of your own." the rat replied, thinking:_ I am becoming really soft..._

Strigoi shook his head, "No...This place doesn't feel right...not for me...thank you but...no."

"I am unsure of what to say, young bat. But one thing is for certain, we aren't going to leave you in the dark..."

"Bad joke," Strigoi mumbled.

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"...seems it's just a mild sedative so she wouldn't fight him."

"Mild? Are you kidden?! Did you SEE how she tried to attack us?" Raph asked. "She even ticked Leo off. That's rare"

"...possibly some psychedelic drug in there too, I'm checking and I can't go any faster"

"What about Betty?"

"Out like a light, it's where she hit her head again..."

"I think we need a word with the vampire."

"Slightly" Don replied, as the computer finally beeped. "What the-?"

"What?"

"This is a poison, a slow acting one but it's similar to the ones they use for Euthanasia" Don corrected himself. "It's- it's..."

"How you kill people..." The batgirl murmured, trying to sit up but not quite having the strength to do it...

Don's attention turned to Betty. "Betty! Don't move, you need to rest."

"I NEED a hug," she corrected him with a crooked, doped smile

Don paused, gave a soft smile over at the bat. Without hesitation, he leaned over towards her bunk, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Save Yuri, Donnie," Betty murmured, "save my friend a'n…then...I w...wanna cuddle an...an...mate."

Don blushed deeply, then he nodded. "I promise I'll save Yuri." (She wouldn't remember about wanting to mate tomorrow, he was sure)

"Gomenusai...Watashi Iie...perfect, nya"

O-kay...how did you reverse euthanasia? Well, he knew the chemical...it shouldn't take long to create the reverse...

Raph looked over to Don. "You CAN reverse it, right?"

"I-..I can try" The turtle said

"Leo-kun...tustie, nya?"

"Greaaaat, she's talking to Leo and he ain't even here!"

"Raph, be quiet, I'm trying to work!" Don was at his workbench, quickly mixing up chemicals.

"Leo-kun...tustie, nya?...Mikey-kun...yammero...Donnie-kun...Gomenusai...Raph-kun...doozo...Betty-chan...Betty-chan, nya?"

No response came from the bat, she was out cold again.

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Don tried to put the worry out of his mind and focused hard on what he was doing.

Drop of this to that...YES!

Without a second thought he collected the reversing formula in a syringe and injected it into his sister's arm.

The cat paused slightly...before she relaxed all the way.

Don checked her pulse...normal...and she was breathing...he'd just have to stay up and make sure they both lasted...Oh great...

"Mmm...Nekosanie?" The cat opened her eyes.

"Just me, I'm afraid." Don could've wept with relief.

The cat yawned slightly, before taking his hand. "Oh...that's good, Donnie-kun, nya. I had the strangest dream, nya" she looked around slightly before looking back at him.

"You and Betty-chan are not hurt, are you, nya?" she asked in concern, fighting back sleep.

"Betty took another whack to the head...tell me about your dream, Yuri."

"I hope she'll be ok, nya." the cat cooed, continuing to hold her brother's hand softly. "I had a dream that I was riding with Nekosanie somewhere, nya...then I heard this laugh, nya. It sounded scary, nya." She looked up slightly. "You guys were there, nya. And all four of you were trying to fight this scientist, nya...Betty needed saving, nya, so Nekosanie helped her and rode away, and you four were-" she paused. "...Gone, nya"

"Well, we'll still here, Betty even...well, I'll tell you another time..." and he tickled her ears softly before heading off to tell Raph about Yuri.

It seemed to be the amount of time it took to blink for Raph to arrive, in a second he was at Yuri's side.

"Ey, Kitten," he said, gently, "how ya feelin'?"

Yuri paused slightly to study him. Her world was all but blurry and dizzy. But she did recognise his scent. Gently taking his hand, she yawned, and began to purr weakly.

"I feel like Nekosanie hit me with his dark cycle, nya" she muttered.

The red-clad turtle chuckled softly, most from relief and then, after a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, gave her a kiss to the cheek.

"I'm glad yer OK, Kitten."

Yuri smiled softly and continued to purr.

"You think Leo-kun's still mad with me, nya? I dunno why I acted that way, nya" she said, ears slightly going back. "And what about Betty-chan? I'm the one who thought of this stupid plan, nya. What if-"

"I'm sure Leo ain't mad atcha," Raph reassured her quickly, "and Betty, well..."

"...jus...kisssss already" the bat suddenly muttered.

The cat quickly turned, blushing. "Betty-chan! Na-...Nani?...Are you ok, nya?"

"Mm...head...hurtsss," Betty replied, sounding drugged, "n...think..'m...gonna..." she could finish her sentence because she suddenly leaned over the side of the bunk and threw up.

"Betty-chan!" The cat quickly tried to get up, resulting in falling out of the bunk.

Raph caught her before she hit the ground, "Hey, Donnie!" he called, "we need a mop in here!"

"Better now." the batgirl muttered, curling up on her side.

Yuri looked up slightly as Don rushed in, studying what just happened.

With a sigh, he rushed back out, and returned within the minute to clean up the mess.

"You-...you need a hand Donnie-kun, nya?"

"Nonono, you both need to rest" the tech turtle replied. He looked up softly. "Are you ok, Betty?"

In reply she managed to get a hand on his shoulder and tug him down. "th'ssss" and she planted a kiss on his mouth

Don's eyes widened slightly, before closing in pleasure. So what if she just threw up?!

Yuri grimaced slightly as Don's foot landed in some of the spill. "Byoki, nya" she muttered.

The brainy turtle broke of the kiss and raised his foot, "Eck...guess I should clean up..." and, carefully swilled his foot off in the water bucket to wash off the mess, gently lowered Betty back onto the bunk and proceeded to clean up.

"Nice one, Donnie," Raph said, not letting go of Yuri just yet.

"Yeah" the cat agreed. "I thought we clean up messes, not make them bigger, nya" Yuri laid her head on Raph's shoulder, trying to make the dizziness go away.

Donatella good-naturedly shrugged it off and finished cleaning up.

"I think both Yuri and Betty should be left to sleep now, Leo and Mikey just got back"

Yuri looked over. "I wanna speak to Leo-kun,nya"

"You need to sleep first," Donnie said in a "no arguments" voice, "keep Betty company and I'll bring Leo through later, OK?"

"Yuri..." Raph said softly, putting her down, "this ain't 'cos we think yer still a kitten. This is 'cos ya had a bad experience and need ta rest, OK?"

Oh yeah, yeah suuure, it wasn't. I have a bad experience EVERYDAY; just dealing with the fact that i'd do a whole lot better away from you! I'm sorry I can't be perfect!! Yuri's mind hissed. Please don't turn your back...I CAN'T believe it's hard just to TALK to you!!!

The cat smiled. "It's ok, nya." she sugar-coated. "I love you both, nya"

"We love you too," Don assured as he left.

Raph though...lingered. "Talk ta me," he said eventually.

Yuri paused and gaped softly...slowly making a frown come to her face, she shook her head. "I can't, nya" she whispered. "It's...hard"

"I got nowhere ta go, I've got all night...an' seems Betty's asleep"

The batgirl was indeed curled up, her breathing soft and even.

Yuri paused, and poked his forehead, "your helmet makes you psychic doesn't it, nya?" she whispered. "Typical Nekosanie, nya..."

"Heh, so...talk. What's wrong?"

"...sometimes I wonder, nya" the cat paused, looking over to the sleeping bat. "I wonder if things would be better around here, if I just would've ended up like my brothers and sisters, nya"

"Lost, ya mean?" Raph asked softly.

On her bunk Betty turned over and, for some reason, stuck her thumb in her mouth. It looked oddly adorable.

Yuri smiled over at the bat softly. She paused and looked back to the turtle beside her. "Only one survived, Raph-kun. And I don't even know if he's still alive, nya." she muttered. "And mother..." she clenched her fists slightly before calming down. "What a nuisance, nya" she muttered.

"Nuh..." Betty spoke up, apparently all she could manage was a sort of half asleep catnap, "Th'...th' doctor...th' kitties...got...away..."

Yuri's ears perked up slightly. Now she was missing information...could it get any worse? She paused. If Betty was right, that meant that she could still have a family out there.

And then...If Betty was right...that could only mean...

"Yuri?" Raph asked, noticing the ear perk.

"Nothing, nya" the cat muttered, suddenly gripping his hand tighter. "Wakarimasu ka?" she whispered. "Iie...Anata kari, nya"

The tough turtle suddenly tugged her close and hugged her whilst stroking her hair gently, "I love ya, Kitten," he whispered.

Yuri closed her eyes gently, while snuggling into Raphael. "Watashi Nekosanie, nya...Watashi Aru, nya" The cat relaxed in her brother's arms. "Raphael-sama, nya" she sighed as sleep wrapped its arms around her.

From her half-closed eyelids, in her half-asleep daze, Betty smiled...heh, they were cute together...very cute...

She gave a small "chirr" of happiness that went unnoticed.

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Author's Note: I'm not done! This fic is not complete! Stay tuned, OK? (hugs Strigoi) ah wuvs yooooou!

Strigoi: (weirded out look)


	22. What're We Going to do with Strigoi?

_**Author's Note:**__ a few more chapters and I'm all wrapped up with this fic. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ They're not mine, I found them on the street and I will drop them off at the L and F asap! I swear!_

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Splinter watched Strigoi silently, as his sons reported to him.

"So now all the animals are out, and I don't think there were any other experiments" Mikey said, kneeling. "At least I didn't see any"

The batboy remained hugging his knees and staring dead ahead with his single, black eye. He hadn't moved an inch the whole time.

Leo frowned slightly. "Master Splinter, are you certain of what we're going to do with our new...guest?" the lead turtle asked. "I'm sorry, but...Our home is getting...crowded"

"Our guest has not decided on that, Leonardo" the rat spoke calmly.

Mikey looked up slightly. "Well...what about..."

All eyes turned to Mikey, except Strigoi who stayed exactly as he was.

The orange clad turtle suddenly felt small, but braved it out. "What's he gonna do, then?...more importantly, are the girls gonna make it? I mean; Betty took a pretty rough hit"

"Yeah, they're gonna be fine," Raph said, suddenly appearing in the door way, "both of 'em are asleep peacefully." He bowed at Splinter, "sorry for being late, but Yuri wanted to talk before she went to sleep."

Don looked confused. "I thought she wanted to talk to Leo?" he asked.

Mikey tilted his head. "Everything's so confusing...what about Betty?"

"Kinda goin' in an outta sleep, but seems ok," the red-clad turtle said, "how's the vampire doin'?"

All turtles looked towards Strigoi.

"I think he's in shock" Don said. "He won't move"

"I'll tell you what's shocking..." Leo said, crossing his arms. "This bat has a problem comparing his foods..."

"He...hurt...her..." the batboy mumbled, lowering his head and closing his eye.

Leo sighed slightly, and then turned. "I'm taking it that the doctor probably hurt Betty in some way, then he attacked him. I'm not sure. I wasn't there" the leader said.

"Then who do we ask?" Don leaned back slightly, also confused.

"I don't think I WANT to know" the youngest turtle moaned, putting a hand over his stomach.

"I shall speak with him," Splinter said finally, "you four, go to bed or to watch over the girls, understood?"

"Yes Sensai"

Mikey, surprisingly, rushed over to the med room

Leo blinked. "Ok...who is he, and what has he done with Mikey?"

"He just doesn't wanna sleep 'cos he thinks vampire boy is gonna suck out his blood," Raph said dryly.

"I don't drink your kind of blood," Strigoi said softly, staring at his shoes now, "I drink cattle."

Leo looked over slightly, with a gentle, yet untrusting look. "Either way, you're going to need rest after you talk with Master Splinter" he said slightly.

Strigoi shrugged. "I don't care where I sleep." his voice was unemotional still.

Leo frowned slightly, before turning around. "Suit yourself then." he said calmly, ninja-like.

Splinter watched as his sons departed, then looked towards Strigoi. It was going to be a long night...

"I didn't mean to kill him," Strigoi said, once he knew it was just him and the rat, "he just...he hurt her. Grabbed her by the hair then flung her at the wall...the cracking noise was horrible..."

The rat frowned slightly. "There are many ways to do the right thing," he said softly. "But this is irreversible. I am sure your intentions were good, but letting your anger get the best of you is a danger." he sighed.

"I've never been taught another way." was the boy's answer, "I've never been angry before."

The rat paused. Now this was new. "I see. Then you must learn how to recognise it."

"I suppose I don't really have a choice, not now." Strigoi may have been much more eloquent than Betty but, in his own way, he seemed to be an innocent too.

"I didn't like him," the boy continued, "he wasn't my friend though I know he tried to make me see him as a father figure, and I listened to him or was punished," he tapped his eye patch, "but I didn't like him...but I still...shouldn't've ripped his throat."

The rat nodded. "Your words are admirable, young bat. The realisation of one's mistake can help you learn." he studied the bat. "What happened?"

"To my eye...or to him?"

"To the man that has done so much damage" the rat replied

"He's dead, I know that much...he...can't hurt us...not anymore..." but something seemed to be worrying Strigoi.

"Then...what troubles you?"

The batboy took a deep breath, trying to organise his thoughts.

"...It wasn't a good life," he said eventually, "not by a long shot. I understand why she left, I ENVY that someone cared enough to get her out...but it was the only life I knew and now...I've nothing, really."

"You have allies that care about you, young bat." the rat replied, "If they did not care about your future, do you think you would be sitting here, talking to me?"

"I think I would be dead if I hadn't been holding her," Strigoi answered truthfully.

The rat nodded slightly.

"And now I'm lost," Strigoi said it as a statement of fact, not a cry of self pity, "They're afraid I'll drain them dry if they sleep, the intended mate doesn't want me," he blinked at Splinter, "to be honest, her scent does nothing for me, it is pleasant but doesn't attract me...I think I only wanted to mate with her because I'd been told I should want to."

Strigoi, despite his caged life, seemed remarkably intelligent; then again it appeared the same was true of Betty.

Splinter listened, then set his hands on his cane. "There are two hearts that welcome you purely to this place." the rat replied.

"Seriously?" Strigoi tilted his head

The rat nodded, and stood up. "It would be wise if you got some rest. The night grows older"

"Thanks," the vampire bat said earnestly and promptly curled up where he sat.

The rat smiled, and walked towards his own room.

Unnoticed, Leo crouched in the shadows, watching Strigoi.

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Yuri gasped and awoke suddenly, sitting up quickly. The clock read 2:35 a.m. She looked around. Mikey was snoozing near the corner of the room, and Betty was sleeping peacefully.

The cat sighed in relief, and hugged her knees, closing her eyes slightly...

Before she plain got off the bed and with the prowess of a cat (even though she was still zonked), quietly made her way around the dark lair, on her way to the kitchen for a drink of water, she nearly fell over Leo.

"Yuri," he whispered, catching her, "what're you doing up?"

The cat made a slight mewing sound of confusion, before looking up at her eldest brother, ears slightly flattening. She shivered slightly, and made a motion towards the kitchen. "I'm thirsty, nya" she whispered

Leo nodded, his eyes not moving from the sleeping male bat. "Go on then."

Yuri didn't leave his grasp though. "Leo-kun?...Gomenusai...I didn't think a drug would make me go berserk, nya" she whispered.

Leo paused, "It's fine Yuri," he said sincerely, "I know it wasn't your fault."

Strigoi, meanwhile, moved and Leo tensed, but it was only to turn onto his other side, the batboy remained sleeping.

The cat paused, before looking down, disappointed.

"You'd think he'd be having nightmares," Leo murmured, watching the boy, "you'd think he'd at least feel some regret..." he sounded annoyed.

Yuri looked up, surprised.

"Leo-kun...you sound like...Nekosanie..." she muttered, ears going back. "He should feel regret, yah, nya...But...as far as i'm consered...he's an innocent, nya. He's still young, nya...He needs to learn, nya."

"He doesn't seem to feel anything..." Leo blinked, "he killed and he doesn't have nightmares."

Unnoticed, the batboy had a hand pressed to his eye-patch, to the empty socket, as if remembering pain.

"He and Betty-chan were scared, nya. To them, he's equivalent to the Shredder to us, nya." she looked up to him. "We don't feel any pain when we fight him, nya"

Strigoi's mouth suddenly opened wide and he fell onto his back, arching off the floor in a silent scream, a hand pressed to his eyepatch.

Yuri quickly turned towards Strigoi, ears still back, and with a concerned expression on her face.

He looked like he was being tormented...then it came to her, Strigoi must've learnt not to scream or make noises when he was in pain or having nightmares...

Quitely, the cat began to make her ways towards the bat.

"Yuri!" Leo hissed, "he might attack you, come back!"

Strigoi curled up into a foetal position, still clutching at his empty socket, tears once again coming from his remaining eye.

Yuri paused and turned to her brother slightly; the same concerned look on her face. "Nekonie...he's hurting, nya"

Leo huffed, but said no more, instead watching and ready in case the bat attacked.

Yuri shook her head slightly. "This is what I worked my tail off for, nya?" she asked, heading back for the bat. "I can't believe this, nya. Tustie? Why did I do that, nya?"

Strigoi curled himself up tighter into a ball, as if trying to make himself smaller, his breathing was rapid, scared and...Yes...a small frightened chirrup came from his throat.

Yuri gently set one of her hands on the bat's shoulder in comfort.

"I spend my whole life trying to impress my leader, nya...trying to show him that I love him, and that as his sister, I will be there for him, nya" she muttered. "I've tried again and again to impress my brothers one by one, nya. I'm not as strong as Raph-kun, not as smart as Don-kun, not as fun as Mikey-kun, and not as mastered as Leo-kun, nya. Then I find out the very leader that I've tried so hard to win over...doesn't even have compassion of all things, nya"

Strigoi tensed at her touch, as if expecting more pain

It was sad really, it seemed that no-one had ever comforted him when he was frightened, at least Betty'd had Tony and now she had Yuri and Don…but Strigoi had no-one.

Yuri paused. Why hadn't Leo answered?

She looked up...just to find he was gone.

She frowned, and then looked back to the bat, setting a hand to his forehead. "Hard, nya" she muttered. "How do you take care of a vampire batty, nya?"

Strigoi shivered but relaxed a little, finally.

Yuri smiled slightly. "Don't worry, mako-san" she cooed. "I'll be your friend, nya" That much said, the cat gently patted his shoulder, and stood up. With a yawn, she returned to her former duty...get some milk.

It wasn't long after that Betty also arose...silently she made her way to Strigoi, he wasn't her mate but...she'd head his screams, a pitch too high for humans and cats, but she heard them.

Not her mate but they shared the same nightmares. She knelt beside him and chirruped softly, comfortingly and watched the vampire bat relax...then awaken. He started at the sight of her, and then sat up on his knees.

_"You...are...were the intended"_ he said, in bat language, (which is made of chirrups, squeaks and crackling noises.)

_"My name's Betty."_ She answered, also in bat language.

_"Strigoi."_

_"I know."_

_"...I don't like your scent much...you aren't meant for me...I know that now."_

_"You have nightmares...are they so bad?"_

_"Terrible...I'm afraid to sleep at times."_

Yuri began to walk out of the kitchen, but stopped, and hid behind the wall. Now what was going on?

The two bats were kneeling in front of each other, not touching but making soft crackling, chirruping and squeaking noises at each other.

Strigoi squeaked something, Betty's eyes widened and she crackled back.

The male nodded and snapped his teeth once.

What could they POSSIBLY be doing? The cat wondered. Nothing makes any sense anymore...

_"You...ate him?"_

_"Just his throat."_

_"He's...dead?"_

_"Gone. For good."_

_"It's over...it's finally over?"_

_"Yes..."_ Strigoi looked down, "_I know you're not my mate...but...we're the only two like us…"_

_"I'm not you're mate...but you can be my brother!"_

_"Brother...a colony of two?"_

_"Why not?"_

Strigoi thought about it...then nodded. "_Yes, OK_...Sister."

"Brother."

And the two bats hugged briefly.

The sight of the bats hugging made the cat smile slightly. Peace...I love peace, nya the cat thought to herself. She suddenly shook her head. Dizziness...what a stupid, annoying thing...

The batgirl sniffed the air..._"Yuri." _she chirruped in bat.

_"Yuri?"_

_"My friend...she's here..."_ she switched to English, "Yuri?"

The cat slapped herself harshly and slid down the wall, still in the kitchen, unseen.

This is getting ridiculous, nya the cat ridiculd herself. at least it's her and not Leo-kun, nya...

The two bats had followed her into the kitchen.

"Yuri!" Betty hugged her, "you okies?"

The cat dangled in the bat's embrace. "Everything's alright, nya," the cat whispered. "I was just thirsty, nya..."

"You're that cat-human," Strigoi said, "I am...sorry if I scared you. I wouldn't have eaten you."

Yuri finished hugging Betty, and shakily got up. She bowed slightly. "It's alright, nya" she continued to whisper. "I was focused, was all. That, and I wasn't sure of what you're diet was, nya" The cat smiled sadly. "But now that I know, I'm not afraid of you, tomodachi, nya"

The male looked to Betty questioningly.

"It means 'friend'" she chirruped.

"Oh...that's good, right?"

"Very"

Yuri looked down slightly as the bats talked. She felt everything when Betty was around. EVERYTHING!!! Happiness, acceptance, loyalty, friendship, trust, sisterly love...

In all this, she wished she felt 100 perecent to enjoy it...

"We gotta sleep," Betty said suddenly, "We gotta sleep and...get better."

"...don't wanna be alone..." Strigoi mumbled

"We push the bunks together, you can share," the batgirl announced.

Yuri blushed slightly. A boy in the same room?...Hopefully Mikey would be alert...

Yuri scoffed. Yeah right...She suddenly wished she could be with Nekosanie...

Both bats set off for the infirmary, along with Yuri, since they'd been insistent, and together they quietly made the two beds into one.

Sleeping arrangements were easy enough; Betty went in the middle, between her friend and her new brother.

And that was that for the night.

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When Mikey awoke the first thing he saw was a sleeping Strigoi.

"EEK!" Mikey jumped up and slammed his hands over his mouth...the bat didn't ever stirr...

Mikey let out a sigh of relief, before walking over and studying the situation...great...Don was gonna LOVE this... and Raph and Leo would probably freak out with having the kitty in a same bed as a boy...Especially Leo probably...

Mikey was a little more concerned about Don...what would he think?

Though maybe it wouldn't be so bad because Betty was facing Yuri and Strigoi was facing away from the both of them.

Yeah...maybe?

Mikey sighed and stretched. He was starving!

"Nekosanie?"

Mikey whirled around, but all three were still asleep. "Ok...now I'm hearing things...maybe I should have Donnie give me a check up..." he muttered.

Betty shifted herself slightly closer to Strigoi but only in sleep, Strigoi moved away slightly.

Mikey grimaced. Maybe he SHOULD get his brothers in here...

That much thought out, he started to go out...

He sighed...what was he going to say?

"Hey guys, Yuri and Betty are in bed with the vampire"? Yeah, that'd go down well!

But then what would they do if he DIDN'T tell them?

Who should he tell first? Who as LEAST likely to freak out?

Probably Leo...

Mikey soon stepped out.

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"Yuri and Betty are WHAT?!" the leader spun around. "I thought I told her to stay away from him"

"Geez, Leo!" Mikey exclaimed, "If I'd know you'd react like this I'd have told Raph first!"

Leo crossed his arms. "You get back in there, and make sure they're alright. I'll go wake the others," he said, glancing towards the infirmary.

He frowned, before he headed to Raph's room.

Mike sighed, rolled his eyes, but obediently headed back.

Not a lot had changed except Strigoi now had one arm dangling off the edge of the bed.

"What time is it, nya?"

Mikey nearly jumped out of his shell, but then relaxed when he saw it was only Yuri.

"Uh...just after 7am, Sis," he answered.

Yuri was now sitting up in the bed, leaning against the wall, still in the arms of dizzyness. "Seven?...Really?...It's still a little dark then, nya" the cat muttered. "Maybe I can still...see Neko, nya"

"Uh, maybe you should lie back do-" he got cut off because Betty suddenly grabbed onto one of Yuri's arms and, having managed to tug her back down, sleepily cuddled up against her.

Strigoi moved slightly and sent a leg to join his arm dangling off the edge of the bed.

The cat winced and her ears went back slightly. "nyou..." she muttered.

The batgirl made a comforting, soothing, purring noise in her sleep and didn't let go.

It was this point that the three other turtles entered.

Yuri muttered something under her breath, unable to see, or even know if her brothers were even there or not. "Semonie, manukie, nyou..."

The three other turtles blinked at the sight, though Leo looked like he was about to explode.

Yuri paused, and quickly scrambled up, to see her brothers. Promptly, the her ears went back.

The batgirl made a regretful sound and turned away, towards Strigoi.

"Yuri," Raph took over, for once being sensible, "just tell us why you an' Betty were sharin' a bed with Vald there, please, before Leo and Donnie burst somethin' important."

The cat frowned slightly. "Seriously was not my idea, nya" the cat said. "Strigoi-kun claimed he didn't want to be alone, so Betty-chan invited him in, nya. She told me they are now brother and sister, nya"

"Brother and…" Donnie spoke up but trailed off, "But...didn't he kidnap her? And drag her to that lab."

"And he ATE someone." Leo pointed out, "he's not safe, Yuri."

"I'm not deaf either," the vampire bat muttered, sleepily, sitting up and rubbing his one eye, Betty half propped up against his side.

Yuri looked down. Here we go again...

"Don't ARGUE," Betty yawned suddenly, "'m st'll tired."

"Betty..." Don coaxed, "please move away from him?"

"Nuh," the batgirl yawned again and shook her head, "s' my brother, not gonna hurt you."

"But...Still" Mikey said, trying to word this right. "Even though you now have a brother and sister relationship...don't cha think you should be more cautious?"

"Uh?" both bats blinked at him questioningly.

Mikey blushed slightly. "Um...I meant...It's not really safe?"

Raph snorted. "Nice one, brainless..."

Another blank look from both bats; who then looked at each other, chittered back and forth in bat, and then shrugged at each other

Mikey looked over to his other brothers for help.

Yuri looked over slightly, ears still back. "Matsushita" she muttered. No one could hear her though...

"It's not right for brothers and sisters to share the same bed," Don explained.

Both bats raised an eyebrow, as if saying "maybe that's true for turtles" before Betty slid off the bed, grabbed Don's hand and led him over to the computer, tapping something into a search engine.

"Anything for breakfast?" Strigoi asked meekly

Yuri paused. She hadn't picked anything up from any stores yet...but seeing to it that she was once again helpless for the fifteenth-thousandth time in her life, Leo probably wasn't going to let her go up topside.

Yuri once again checked the clock.

Mikey paused. "W-we have eggs?" he said, also meekly.

"OK" the male bat nodded, "...umm...is there somewhere I can wash out my socket?" he sweat-dropped

That much said, the cat quickly scampered out of the room.

Mikey paused. "Um...I-I think so"

"Socket?" Raph asked and Strigoi tapped his eye patch.

"Gets kind of...messy here...I don't think I'm healing right."

"Looks like don has another patient" Mikey said slightly. "I hope he and Betty don't take too long..."

Betty was showing Don a fact sheet on Bats

"Bats are social creatures," he read aloud, "and live together in large communes in dark quiet places."

Don looked over it again. "Ok, I get the bat part, but you have to remember, you're also part human, Betty" he said softly. He blushed, "and...It kinda makes me nervous..."

"You mean 'jealous'" she chirruped and nuzzled the side of his face gently.

The turtle blushed even more. "Yeah...that too." he said softly, "how did you all wind up together anyways?"

"I heard him screamin'," she confessed, "too high for you and Yuri but...I could...and..I knew how he felt...and we got talkin'...and then we got tired and he didn't wanna be alone 'cos he was havin' nightmares too."

"I see...and lady-purrs-alot knew?"

"About the nightmares? Nuh," Betty shook her head, "'bout him sharing' the' bed, yes. And I slept in the middle 'cos I know you and Leo would freak 'f Strigoi was in th' middle."

"Leo? Yeah, he's tense about Strigoi"

"Striogoi killed the monster, Donnie," the batgirl suddenly sat on his lap, "I...don't hafta be scared anymore."

Don wrapped his arms around her. "I understand...sorta…but please, I still want you to be careful"

"He won't hurt me, I know," she rested her forehead against his gently, "'cos I know. We've the same nightmares, the same experiences...we're family now."

Donatello's eyes filled with worry, before he pressed his lips to hers gently.

The batgirl kissed back enthusiastically, cuddling tightly against him as if wanting to get into his shell with him.

The cough made them part in surprise, though Betty tucked her head under Don's chin; it just felt comfortable for her.

"If you're done," Leo said, "Strigoi needs his eye socket looked at."

Don looked over slightly. "I'll be right there, Leo" he said.

Leo's stance clearly said off that he didn't really care about the male bat...which made Betty growl.

Don couldn't hear it, but he could quite clearly feel it vibrating lightly against his plastron. He sighed and quickly took one of the female bat's hands, before standing up and turning around. "Is he still in the med room?" he asked.

Leo nodded and headed off to the Dojo, with the intent of practicing.

Betty watched him go, eyes narrowed, still growling.

Don gave a gentle look towards Betty, concern knocking at his door. "Don't worry, Betty" he said. "I'll make sure Strigoi will be alright."

"If Leo hurts him..." she muttered in a low voice, "'Im gonna EAT his picture."

Don quickly held Betty. "Here...why don't you go find Yuri and chill a bit?" he asked softly.

"You look after my brother?" she asked, giving him wide eyes.

Don nodded and took both of her hands in his. "I promise, Betty" he said, truth gleaming in his eyes.

His bat nuzzled against him, "love you," she chirruped softly and went off to find Yuri.

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Don found the male bat standing at the sink, eye patch on the side, dabbing along the eyelid that hid his empty socket, cleaning away a mixture of dried pus and blood.

Don carefully approached the bat. "Let me help you, Strigoi" he said gently.

The bat jumped and dropped the cloth he'd been using. "Oh..." he panted, putting a hand to his chest over his heart, "it's you...sorry, you scared me."

Don jumped as well before smiling slightly. "It's alright," he said, calmly. "Let me help you, Strigoi"

"This...isn't going to involve sharp objects is it?" the vampire bat asked nervously

"Not entirely"

The boy backed away slightly, looking a little scared. He looked...like Betty when people mentioned medication

"It's ok" the turtle reassured. "It's only minor, I promise"

"Is it...gonna hurt?"

"By from what I see, it'll be more than a tickle, but less than pain" the tech turtle assured.

Strigoi sighed and sat back down on a bunk. "Go on." he said

Don nodded, and began his work on the bat.

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	23. Yuri's Rant

_**Author's Note:**__ nearly there, people, nearly there. ...(tackles Strigoi) oooh! You're just toooooo cute!_

_Strigoi: Hey! Let go! (struggles)_

_WWW: NEVER! (huggles tighter)_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own TMNT...(sound of 4 sets of ninja weapons being drawn behind her)...er...no, no I don't. Eh..heh...(nervous look)_

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"So...you're upset with Leo-kun now?" the cat asked, in a spare room with Betty, trying to do ballet moves, while still zonked from both the poison, and the reversing chemical that Don had gave her. It was pretty pathetic.

The cat looked over to her bat friend. "Is he...being a baka, nya?"

"He doesn't like Strigoi," the batgirl answered, she was lying on the floor, her legs up the wall, "I think he doesn't care if Strigoi's hurt"

The cat continued to try her ballet moves, the music being too fast for her at the moment.

"He has been acting strange, nya" the cat admitted. "He grabbed me last night, telling me not to go near Strigoi-san, nya. I dunno...maybe he's being protective, nya…"

"He's bein' STUPID," Betty argued gently.

THUD!!!

Yuri looked over from where she just landed, and looked concerned. "Betty-chan…"

"Once you've been hurt...like that," the batgirl continued, "you dun wanna hurt people."

Yuri slightly got up, then positioned herself to were she was holding one of Betty's hands. "I think that's true in Strigoi-kun's case...but it's not true in everyone's case, nya"

"I know that," Betty replied, "jus' talkin' 'bout Strigoi"

Yuri sighed and closed her eyes. "I want...to quit, nya..."

The bat blinked "Quit?"

Yuri closed her eyes. "This family is falling apart, nya" she whispered, "they're scaring me, nya...If they continue to do this...I want to quit, nya"

"Oh..." Betty blinked..."You can come an' live with me if it does or you do," she told her, then tugged on Yuri's hands, bringing her down for a tight hug, "you're loved, I think you need to get them together inna same room for 5 minutes, and that means Splinter too, and TELL them what you're feelin'"

The cat let the bat hug her. "It's hard to even talk to them now, nya..." she cooed. "But maybe yer right, nya"

"Course I am," Betty quipped happily, "n I thought 'bout where Strigoi can live now"

Yuri looked up, "really, nya? Where?"

"Tony," her friend answered simply, "he gets lonely now that his boyfriend left."

Yuri blushed slightly, and nodded. "A great idea, nya. Strigoi is nice, nya. He deserves to be in the hands of a kind person, nya" she cooed

"I'll call him later. Right now...I'm stuck!"

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The damage to Strigoi's eye was unbelievable. It was a messy job with at least half an inch of damaged artery left over and it hadn't been properly treated. It was infected, which was why it got messy back there.

Don was disgusted.

"How long has your eye been like this?" the tech turtle asked, wiping away some pus and blood as he tried to work.

"Couple of weeks," Strigoi answered promptly, "I clean it out myself but it hurts like a knife to the gut."

Don frowned. "That's probably because you can't see where the real work needs to be done." he said, gently wiping the socket, then returning to his work. "That, or you didn't have the proper tools..."

The tech turtle paused, and sighed. "This is going to take longer than I thought...but you need some hydration." he said.

"Water, right," the bat nodded, "been awhile since I drank water that wasn't infected with something."

Don nodded. "Do you want some now, or after I'm done?"

"I can wait," Strigoi answered, sitting very still.

Don nodded again, "Alright." he said, gently snipping away some hardened blood. "At the most, this should take about an hour"

"I'm a patient bat."

Leo watched unseen from the doorway. The batboy was being the picture of innocence right now

Even though he was an innocent experiment, something about the bat creeped him out and the leader was set on protecting his family and friends

Then he heard Strigoi say: "Your brother doesn't like me much, does he?"

"Huh?" Don looked up, surprised. "He's...tense is all" he explained. "I'm sure if he gets to know you, he'll lighten up"

"He thinks I'm dangerous."

Don sighed. "I can see where he's coming from...You did kill a person...but you did say you were sorry, didn't you?" he looked up, "Leo relies on the facts, so he's pretty tough to figure out sometimes," he smiled compassionately, "don't worry. With time, he'll see you in a better light"

"I don't wanna fight," the bat shook his head vigorously, "not now, not ever!"

Don flinched slightly. "Strigoi!!" he cried. "I said 'Light' not fight!"

The tech turtle quickly put his hands on the bat's shoulders. "Strigoi...calm down," he said gently. "I promise you, no one's going to make you fight if you don't want to. It's YOUR path, not ours"

"Oh, sorry..." the batboy blushed slightly

Don smiled and patted the bat's shoulder. "It's ok, Strigoi. I'm not mad"

That much said, the turtle sat down, "Now, let's finish that eye, shall we?"

"OK" the boy sat still again.

Leo looked thoughtful...so...it had been self-defence...or defence of Betty anyway...maybe he was being too harsh on the male bat

"Hey, uh, Leo?...Dude, Leo?"

Leo turned to look. "Oh, hey Mikey, what's up?"

The orange clad turtle pointed to the kitchen. "The eggs are done, in case you're interested." the youngest turtle replied. "I'm not sure how long Donnie and Bat-boy in there are going to take, so I kinda didn't make the tea..."

"Fine, Mikey, I'll be along in a sec…They're going to be about another hour."

Mikey shrugged, before heading off to spread the breakfast news.

Betty and Yuri seemed to be having a staring contest when he found them, lying on their stomachs staring straight into each other's eyes.

"I know you're going to win, nya" Mikey heard the cat coo. "I'm already slipping up on my dancing, so this should be easy for you, nya"

"Yeah, but I'm still tired," the bat answered, "I might blink."

"Yeah, but my mind's on Nekosanie, nya" the cat blushed. "I may blink in infatuation, nya"

"'I'm thinkin' 'bout my brother. Might blink outta a headache."

Mikey blinked...they were aruging over who'd win in reverse? NOW he'd heard everything.

"Uh…knock knock, hate to interrupt but breakfast's on the table."

Both the cat and the bat blinked at the same time, and looked over to Mikey.

Yuri paused, before smiling in realisation. "Ohayo gozimazu, big brother, nya" she greeted, bidding him good morning.

Betty greeted him politely in Arabic.

"Another time?" she asked Yuri, meaning the staring game.

Yuri nodded and watched as the bat got up. The cat got up and whispered in her ear. "I'll be right there, nya. I'm gonna try one more time to get my dance right, nya" she cooed. "Send raph-kun or Leo-kun after me, k?"

"kay," the bat chirruped, already having decided to send Raph.

The cat smiled as the bat left with her playful brother. That much done, the cat pressed a button on the stereo and waited till the techno version of Fur Elise played. As soon as the music reached the cat's ears, she tried once more.

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Betty entered the infirmary carrying a tray carefully. She chirruped a greeting at Strigoi and gave Don a smile.

"Breakfast," she said.

Don looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Betty." he said, gently taking the tray, and setting it on the sistering desk. He looked over towards Strigoi. "I'm half done with that, but you're welcome to eat before I finish." He offered. "Besides, the medicine I'm about to give you might wreck your appetite."

"Thanks" Strigoi took his plate and began to eat his scrambled eggs and toast slowly, chittering at Betty, who'd sat herself beside him, every now and then in bat.

Don watched them, wishing he knew what they were saying, while he bit into his toast.

It was an actual conversation, complete with hand gestures and body movements, just like a human conversation, just conducted in squeaks, chirrups and crackling noises.

By the end Strigoi looked apprehensive and bit down gently but nervously on his bottom lip, he glanced at Don, at the ceiling then back at Betty, who chirruped reassuringly and nuzzled him in a friendly way.

Don gently sipped at his tea. "Are you feeling better now, Betty?" he asked, trying to join the conversation.

"Mmh hmm," she nodded, "still kinda tired, but I'm okies now."

"I'm sorry," Strigoi said, in English, "that I hurt you in the labs, I was...excited to finally have someone...like me...you know?"

"Yes." the batgirl nodded ans hugged her 'brother' tightly, "'s okies, Strigoi."

"You really think I'll do OK living with this Tony?"

Don tilted his head. "You're sending him to live with Tony?" the tech turtle felt a smile tugging at his face. "He's trustworthy."

"He likes bats and he knows how to take care of us."

"OK..." Strigoi nodded, then looked at Don, "Betty's promised to come and visit me a lot 'cos we're clan now."

Don's smile froze. He wasn't sure if he liked that idea as much. If Betty visited Strigoi often she...might decide that she preferred someone of her own species better...could he live with that?

Don could practically feel sweat go down his neck. "Oh. That's...understandable." he said, trying to word things right. "I'm sure you'll get better acquainted..."

_Smooth Don, real smooth. Now she's SURE to be attracted..._

"Tony got a good scent?" Strigoi asked Betty

"S'okies, dun do anything for me but s'okies...clean, anyway."

Strigoi nodded and finished his breakfast enthusiastically

Don looked down and blushed. Why did a male just ask about a male scent? Man, and he thought MIKEY was weird...

Betty suddenly gave a small 'eek' and bolted off calling, strangely, for Raph.

"You don't hafta worry, y'know," Strigoi said conversationally, "I can't steal her from you."

Don was stunned, "How'd you-?"

"Scent."

Don blushed slightly, before looking down sheepishly.

"Territorial, ain'tcha?" Strigoi chuckled, "She chose you and, from the mark on your neck, she's marked you. The only way she'd even THINK of taking another mate would be if you died."

"Oh...I guess I still don't know that much about bats then." the turtle said softly, sipping his tea.

"We're interesting creatures," Strigoi encouraged him, "and we choose by scent. Her scent...not really for me...I think I only liked her, the idea of her, because I'd been told to. I didn't know any better and none of the females in the lab attracted me."

The batboy shrugged, "But we're clan now. Sister and brother through choice."

Don smiled. "Having a sister is a big responsibility...heh heh...belive me...I know" he said, thinking about all the things he had ever done with Yuri. "It can be tough at times, and at times it's really rewarding." he smiled. "But it's a big responsibility"

"I have nothing to do." Strigoi shrugged cheerfully, giving his first real smile.

Don smiled back, before continuing to sip his tea...

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"Ya want me to fetch Kitten?"

"Yup."

"But she's practicin'..."

"Needs breakfast, n she said to send you."

Raph sighed, and then smiled. "Alright, but if Kitten ends up snappin' at me, I'm comin' for ya, Betty-girl"

"I'm shakin'" the batgirl winked at him. She LIKED Raph, he didn't scare her a bit.

And hopefully some time alone together would do him and Yuri some good.

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"Kitten? Ya crazy bat friend sent me to getcha."

The cat was on her knees, panting gently. Her ears were back, and the song continued to play.

Oh great...now Raph-kun's here to see my pathetic performance...can it get any worse, nya? The cat thought to herself.

"Ya OK, Kitten?" Raph asked in concern, kneeling down beside her.

Yuri looked up, towards Raph. "Oh...Hai..." she muttered. "I can't get it right, nya...I'm so...dizzy, nya" She looked down slightly, and blushed.

"Ya shouldn't be practicin' if ya feelin' giddly, Kitten," he answered softly, "ya could get hurt,"tThat being sad, he picked her up, "Ya need ta get some food inta yer system."

The cat paused, before struggling to get out of his grip. "Wait, put me down, nya!" she muttered. "I'm not hungry..."

"Sorry Kitten, the batgirl's orders. Ya don't wanna upset the batgirl do ya?"

The cat went silent..."Nani?"

"Betty told me to come getcha for breakfast. Now, ya gonna come quietly or..." he paused and added in a low voice: "do I hafta kiss ya again?"

Yuri blushed lightly as his nose touched hers. She was begning to wish she could turn off the music that was constantly repeating I just can't get enough of your love" over and over throughout the song.

"Raph-kun..."

"Mm?" he all but purred.

"I wish...we could have time...together, nya" she muttered, all but entranced by his embrace. "Just like Don-kun and Betty-chan, nya...but...without the risk of being discovered, nya..."

Raph thought for a few seconds. "How 'bout th' park?" he said, "I'll take ya to central tonight. How 'bout it?"

Yuri smiled. "Are you getting dressed up, nya?" she asked, tracing his face. "Those dumb dragons might be there, nya..."

"Probably," the red clad turtle nodded, "can't take a lady somewhere an' NOT get dressed up."

Yuri smiled, and gently pecked him on the lips. "Fine, I'll eat, nya"

"Good, ya wanna walk or ya want me ta carry ya?" he quipped cheerfully.

The cat began to agree to let him carry her, before her ears perked in realisation...

"What are you NUTS, nya?" She asked. "You seriously want Mikey-kun to comment, nya?"

"Oh yeah..." Raph sighed; sometimes he wished Mikey wasn't such an annoying brat.

Carefully he put Yuri down on the ground, but had her hang onto his side, that way they got to sort of cuddle and make sure Yuri didn't collapse at the same time.

Yuri blushed, and snuck a nuzzle against his chest. "Arushitaru, nya"

"I love ya too, Kitten," Raph whispered in a voice low enough for only the cat to hear.

Yuri blushed, then hid it well as they entered the dinning room, where Leo, Mikey, and Splinter were awaiting them.

The cat blinked. "Where's Don-kun?...And Betty-chan?...And Strigoi-kun?" she mewed quietly.

"I believe they are still in the infirmary," Splinter informed them, "Strigoi requires medical attention to his missing eye, a matter to which Donatello is attending, and Betty-chan has opted to keep them both company."

Yuri nodded as Raph helped her sit down. With a small yawn, the cat reached for her tea cup, and lightly sipped it. Dizziness...what a mess.

"Gomenusai, Master Splinter-sama" she mewed. "I..." The cat looked down. "I…am unable to practice today, nya..."

"I am unsurprised," the old rat calmly replied, "which is why you are excused until you are recovered."

"Domo Arigato, gozimazu, nya" the cat whispered, sipping more tea, not daring to make eye contact with anyone.

...What a mess...too bad I'm not as brave as Betty-chan implies me to be, nya...

As if some deity had decided to break the tension, the two bats suddenly rolled across the kitchen floor...apparently trying to tickle each other, and didn't stop until they hit a cupboard and landed on top of each other.

"Morning," Strigoi sweatdropped.

"Hi," Betty chirruped, kneeling up on Strigoi's back.

Yuri's ears perked, and her eyes turned curious. "Morning, nya...Did Don-kun finish Strigoi-kun, nya?" she asked, watching them carefully. Oh to play once more with a brother...sounded so fun.

"Yup," Strigoi answered, "I've gotta rinse it with saline twice a day an' I'm gonna get a big marble to fill my socket."

"Wish I know how to play marbles," Betty pouted.

"Were...you two just havin...a tickle fight?" Mikey asked with a disbelieving look.

"So?" both bats chorused.

Leo looked over slightly, not one to speak a word just yet.

Yuri purred. "It looks fun, nya"

"Come join us!" Betty chirruped, holding out her arms to her friend, "I need help takin' on Strigoi!"

Yuri almost got up, but stopped. "I-...I can't nya" she mewed, looking down. "I'd really love to, though...gomenusai."

Both bats looked disappointed but then Splinter spoke once more.

"Yuri must spend today resting," he explained gently, "she is not yet recovered from her ordeal."

He found it endearing that despite their apparent advanced years they acted like young children. Then again, unlike his students, they'd not had a childhood.

Mikey grinned over at Betty. "Cheer up, Betty-girl!" he chriped. "I could help a little later, and you can show Strigoi my games."

"Games?" Strigoi looked up at his 'sister'

"Mikey's got games...I beat 'em."

"Show me!" the male bat demanded playfully, trying to tickle Betty again.

Mikey slouched in his chair as they raced out. "Man, I shouldn'ta opened my big mouth" he muttered.

Yuri smiled at him. "That's not news, nya" she teased, putting a hand on his.

A few minutes later, the faint sound of the opening music for "Tekken" reached the kitchen.

"Firgures he'd choose a fighting game," Leo muttered.

Yuri looked over to Leo, concerned...

"I..." the cat looked down. Why was it so hard?

"I don't want you talking badly about Strigoi-kun" she suddenly muttered. "You're scaring me, nya..."

"He's dangerous." Leo insisted

"So are you." Splinter pointed out, "Strigoi did what he felt necessary to defend Betty and, by proxy, your sister. He regrets, now, enough of this foolishness."

"Master Splinter...I just have this feeling about him." Leo replied, trying not to sound disrespectful.

Yuri reached up for her collar, intent on pulling it off, but stopped, letting herself dangle.

Nightwatcher told her to talk to them...Betty told her to talk to them...April and Casey told her to talk to them...

Yuri looked up towards Leo once more.

"I said enough, Leonardo," the rat said gently but firmly.

Leo sat down and said no more.

Yuri took a deep breath, now or never.

"What is with you all, nya?" the cat suddenly said, looking up. "I can tolerate that none of you have time for me anymore, nya, but this is getting ridiculous, nya" the cat stood. "It's been a long time since we've been an ACTUAL family, nya. Now the only time you guys ever seem to notice each other is if the other is physically hurt, nya. I can understand the needs and wants you guys have, but this is pushing to the limit, nya."

The cat frowned slightly. "We're drifting away as a family, and you guys can't even see it put right in front of your noses, nya. And even now...I can't believe it's hard just to TALK to you, nya! I know nothing lasts forever, but I was certain YOU taught me that love, forgiveness, compassion, and purity lives forever...But the fact that my own leader has forgotten that is haunting, nya."

Yuri reached up, snapped her collar off, and set it on the table. "I know the ninja creed, as well as a true families creed, nya. To love, to live and to learn, nya...but if a ninja has a helpless innocent in front of their face, and can't even see that the mistakes of that individual ARE being regretted, then how much has that ninja learned, nya?" She looked down. "If this is how a ninja acts...then...I quit, nya..." She looked back up. "I'm sorry...I can't be perfect, nya..."

Everyone, including Splinter, seemed stunned and just blinked at her for a few seconds.

"Yuri, my child," Splinter finally broke the silence, he stood up and placed a hand on the catgirl's shoulder, "no-one expects you to be perfect. I am...sorry if I have pushed too hard and led you to believe this."

Yuri looked sadly at her adopted father and let tears fill her eyes. She quickly shook her head and put a hand on the one that held her shoulder. "Iie" she muttered. "You did nothing, nya...I just hope...that one day...we will all see each other for who we are...and not what we can be, nya"

"Hey," Mikey spoke up now, "you can't quit, Yuri."

"Yeah, Kitten, we need the voice of sanity around here...'cos it ain't Leo."

Yuri blushed slightly, then looked over towards her eldest brother...

"Leo isn't doing anything wrong, besides overcompensating, nya." she mewed "Leo-kun...you're a great leader, and I'm glad I'm not it, nya. I know you're trying to protect us, but I'm pretty sure even a great leader has his slip-ups, nya." the cat's eyes softened. "I just ask that you reserve judgement on Strigoi-kun, until you see him for who he truly is, nya"

Leo blinked...then realised that his sister was right.

Strigoi'd been frightened, he's also been protecting Betty and Yuri, just as Master Splinter had said, and despite having every opportunity, hadn't attacked again.

"...You're right," He said, shamefaced.

That much said, Leo suddenly found himself in the embrace of his sister, muttering to him that she loved him, and always wanted to be his little sister...ALL of their little sisters

It felt as if a great weight had been lifted from the air afterwards.

Yuri's grip from Leo finally loosened after about a minute or two. The cat looked embarrassed slightly.

"Gomenusai...I didn't mean to interrupt breakfast, nya" she cooed to her family, scanning the table for her collar.

Raph handed it to her, then ruffled her hair, "guess that put us in our place, huh Kitten?" and he winked at her cheerfully.

Yuri blushed, and then smiled, reaching back to attempt to put the precious collar back on. Once it snapped into place, she sat down and let out a sigh of relief.

"I haven't seen you that determined to get your point across since two months ago..." a stunned voice came from the doorway.

Yuri turned and blushed again, noticing Don. "Don-kun..." desperately wanting the attention off of her for once, she changed the subject. "Is Strigoi-kun going to be ok, nya?"

Don motioned behind himself. "He and Betty are clobbering each other on Mikey's games." he smiled. "I guess it's a bat thing to suddenly be smart at video games."

"Hey..." Mikey muttered, offended.

The two bats were indeed on the sofa, Betty in her usual stance, and Strigoi leaning forward, elbows on his knees, playing Mortal Kombat now instead of Tekken, and the matches seemed to be exceedingly close.

"Hey! How'd they manage to unlock those character moves?" Mikey wanted to know, watching them in awe, "I haven't managed to do that. Even DONNIE hasn't managed to do that!"

Donnie shrugged. "I'm not sure...I'm still trying to figure out the bat coloney thing..." the tech turtle said.

Yuri watched them silently, then smiled. A tyipical Brother vs Sister play fight over a video game...and they didn't even know what was going on! The cat giggled, before resting her head on the table, both to watch, and to calm the dizziness that just approached her.

"One large pizza says Betty-chan wins, nya," she offered.

"You're on," the four turtles chorused, watching the two bats still.

A hit here, a punch there...several special attacks before...

"KO! DRAW!" the game announcer shouted.

Both bats put down the game controllers and chirruped at each other, it sounded suspiciously like laughter.

Mikey blinked. "...ok...how do you draw a pizza?" he asked.

Don snickered slightly, watching the two bats.

Striogoi switched the game off as Betty stretched her back, then they both turned towards the kitchen and...bowed?

"Thankies," Betty chirruped, "we hope you enjoyed watchin'"

"'cos we enjoyed playing" Strigoi added

Mikey suddenly cracked up, holding his head. "Priceless!" he cheered.

Don mock-clapped. "Well played, guys." he grinned. "Not even MIKEY's that good!"

"It's easy...I don't know how, but it is," Strigoi admitted

"But it's more fun to play against Strigoi"

"I'm guessin' cause he puts up a challenge?" Raph asked, leaning back.

"Yep," the batgirl nodded happily, "I g'tta c'll Tony!"

"It's not big news," Mikey said

"To ask him if Strigoi can stay with him, silly."

"Shouldn't you wait until night-time?" Don asked.

"We're not going up top, just want to call him," Strigoi pointed out

Don looked over to his other brothers, who shrugged and basicly make "its fine with me" gestures.

The tech-turtle looked again...

"Raph, would you hand me Yuri's shell cell please?"

"Why can't Betty use yers?"

"Because all of our shell cells are still being repaired, and Yuri's is the only one that works...and she's asleep"

The other turtles look towards the kitchen table where...Yuri was slumped over it. Fast asleep.

"I'll put her to bed." Raph volunteered, " She can use my bed since ain't no way I can get to her pad."

"Ok." Don nodded as Raph handed him the Shell cell. "Keep an eye on her though."

Don turned to Betty, opened the phone and handed it to her.

With ease she dialled Tony's number, as luck had it, she just caught him on his way out to get some groceries.

She told him about...finding another bat but leaving out the details of how and Strigoi needing somewhere to live.

"He'll be here inna hour." the batgirl said, hanging up.

Don nodded. "Alright then. I'm glad that's settled." he smiled.

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"There ya go Kitten," Raph murmured, gently setting Yuri on his bed, "get some sleep."

The cat unconsciously turned to get comfortable, and gently grabbed his hand in the process. She paused, smelt his scent...then kissed it. She started to purr; as though she was in a dream she didn't want to wake up from.

O-kay...trying to get his hand free resulted in Yuri increasing her grip.

He didn't have a choice; he lay down next to her.

The cat promptly snuggled to the turtle in an effort to get warm. Although...the face of the cat was rather hot.

Raph pulled the blanket over her and hoped his cool skin would cool down her face.

Yuri paused, before her grip finally loosened, and she sighed in contentment.

The red-clad turtle made to move...then paused. WHEN, exactly, would they get this opportunity again?

He stayed put. In all reality...he could wait for tonight...but still...that was quite a while away...

Yuri shivered slightly and muttered something about "Okkasan-sama"

Raph blinked, then sighed and gently petted Yuri's hair, "hey, it's OK Kitten," he whispered, "I'm here now and I'm gonna look after ya."

One of Yuri's ears twitched at his voice, before she relaxed once more. Even asleep, Yuri could tell that her prince was with her...and she wished the moment would last...

Wasn't long before Raph nodded off too.

Yuri once again snuggled closer to the strong turtle, and once again was in her dreamland.

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	24. Epilouge: All's Well that Ends Well

_**Author's Note:**__ OK, here's a mild warning – I'm going to mention boylove in this one. NOT explicit, just mention it. I warned you, OK?_

_**Disclaimer:**__ No, still don't own them (sighs)_

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"You've GOTTA be kiddin me!!" Mikey cried, as a bat once again beat his high score though this time it was Strigoi. "This is not funny!"

"Wanna try again?" the batboy offered companionably.

"That's 5 games inna row, Strigoi," Betty pointed out, "I think Mikey needs time to grieve for his high scores."

Mikey gave Betty a sarcastic look. "Ya know, ya sound like Raph?" he playfully mocked, sticking his tongue out at the girl.

"You cried like a baby when I beat yu first time," she answered, sticking her own tongue out at him.

Mikey flushed. "I did not!" he argued, "Ninjas don't cry!...Except for good reason!"

"Beatin' your high score's a good reason," Strigoi chirruped, prodding the orange clad turtle in the side gently.

Mikey growled playfully. "One more round!"

"Mikey, give it up..." Don said, leaning against the pillar, "You can't beat him, and Tony's due any minute now..."

"Is my name being spoken in vain?" Tony's voice asked cheerfully, as the man himself appeared at the entrance of the Lair.

"Tony!" Betty bounded from the sofa and straight into her friend's arms where she snuggles against him happily.

"Hey Bets," he answered and ruffled her hair.

Leo looked over. "Welcome, Tony." he greeted with a slight smile.

Don smiled bigger. "Hey Tony, We were wondering what was takin' ya"

"Sorry, bad directions," the human answered, winking at Betty as he stuck his tongue out slightly.

Strigoi, meanwhile, sat up a little straighter at the new scent...One thought entered his head: "Oh YUM!" (But in a very human 'I want to cuddle with you' way, not an animalistic "I want to suck your blood out' way.)

Don looked over to the male bat. "Strigoi, this is Tony, one of Betty's close friends." he introduced.

"Hey, Strigoi." Tony waved.

Strigoi made an odd chirruping noise. Betty blinked in surprise at him and chirruped back.

"_You...like his scent?"_

_"I LIKE his scent...he smells GOOD."_

_"Really? I've never noticed beyond he smells clean"_

_"Oh he DOES."_

Don tilted his head at the two.

"Are-...Are you both alright?" Leo suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Strigoi blinked, his attention snapping from Betty and Tony to Leo , "Oh. Yes…Fine...just fine...I'm...sure we'll be friends."

Betty nodded. Who'd have thought?

Don smiled again, then looked towards Tony. "And I'm sure this is alright with you?" he asked, trying to confirm this.

"Perfectly," The human nodded, "I could use the company."

Oh if only you knew, Betty thought, Tony was going to find himself with a new mate a lot sooner than he'd thought. She HAD to tell Yuri about this!

Leo watched as the male bat got acquainted with Tony...and smiled...maybe his sister was right...

Strigoi acted well around Tony, shaking his hand and, shyly, recounting how he'd lost his eye...then purring when Tony patted his head.

Leo noticed that Betty had an odd smile on her face, not bad more like something unexpected but wonderful had happened. He moved to see what was up, but paused. He could ask later.

Mikey watched from the couch. "It's a good thing Raph's not here, 'cause he hates mushy stuff." he commented.

Tony suddenly handed Strigoi a pair of sunglasses, like the kind Betty wore only more masculine, explaining it was light outside now. The male bat put them on carefully.

"OK then, got everything?"

"Only got what I'm standin' up in"

"Right, let's go. It's been good seeing you guys again. Betty, take care and come visit anytime, got me?" the human teased, ruffling her hair again and giving her a kiss to the cheek.

"Gotcha, b'byes Tony," she returned the kiss and then hugged Strigoi, chirruping something at him, which earned her a light cuff to the ear from her 'brother'

And then they were gone...and Betty bolted off to find Yuri.

Except Yuri...was snuggled into the front of Raph, ears back, and softly purring. The cat looked like she didn't have a care in the world...it was just her and her dark prince...alone...

...sort of...

The bat stopped and blinked, then smiled and left them alone, they'd work things out just fine now.

She went to look for Donnie so they could go back to her bunker and she could cuddle his brains out.

For awhile, all was right and good with her world

THE END!

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Author's Note: Well, that's it for this fic. I want to thank my reviewers for all their encouragement and hope you enjoyed the story.


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